• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.946-950
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• 2001

Slow-growing pathogenic mycobacterium species, including Mycobacterium bovis BCG, secrete a large amount of glutamine synthetase into culture media. Extracellular and intracellular glutamine synthetases were purified from M. bovis BCG. While the native molecular weights of both glutamine synthetases were estimated to be 370.2 kDa, those of the subunits were 61.7 kDa, indicating that the native forms were composed of 6 subunits. The enzymes showed a hhigh thermal stability and high degree of sequence similarity with the glutamine synthetase from M. tuberculosis in the N-terminal amino acid sequence. Western blotting analysis indicated that the antibodies prepared against both the extracellular and intracellular enzymes exhibited common antigen determinants.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2018

Rapidly proliferating cancer cells require energy and cellular building blocks for their growth and ability to maintain redox balance. Many studies have focused on understanding how cancer cells adapt their nutrient metabolism to meet the high demand of anabolism required for proliferation and maintaining redox balance. Glutamine, the most abundant amino acid in plasma, is a well-known nutrient used by cancer cells to increase proliferation as well as survival under metabolic stress conditions. In this review, we provide an overview of the role of glutamine metabolism in cancer cell survival and growth and highlight the mechanisms by which glutamine metabolism affects cancer cell signaling. Furthermore, we summarize the potential therapeutic approaches of targeting glutamine metabolism for the treatment of numerous types of cancer.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.189-194
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• 2003

Most of the ethyl alcohol consumed by humans is oxidized to acetaldehyde in the liver by the cytoplasmic alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) system. For this ADH-catalyzed oxidation of alcohol, $NAD^+$ is required as the coenzyme and $NAD^+$becomes reduced to NADH. As the $NAD^+$becomes depleted and NADH accumulates, alcohol oxidation is reduced. For continued alcohol oxidation, the accumulated NADH must be quickly reoxidized to $NAD^+$, and it is this reoxidation of NADH to $NAD^+$that is known to be the rate-limiting step in the overall oxidation rate of alcohol The reoxidation of NADH to $NAD^+$is catalyzed by lactate dehydrogenase in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes, with pyruvate being utilized as the substrate. The pyruvate may be supplied from alanine as a result of amino acid metabolism via the urea cycle. Also, glutamine is thought to help with the supply of pyruvate indirectly, and to activate the urea cycle by producing $NH_3$. Thus, in the present study, we have examined the effects of alanine and glutamine on the alcohol oxidation rate. We utilized isolated perfused liver tissue in a system where media containing alanine and glutamine was circulated. Our results showed that when alanine (5.0mM) was added to the glucose-free infusion media, the alcohol oxidation rate was increased by 130%. Furthermore, when both glutamine and alanine were added together to the infusion media, the alcohol oxidation rate increased by as much as 190%, and the rate of urea nitrogen production increased by up to 200%. The addition of glutamine (5.0mM) alone to the infusion media did not accelerate the alcohol oxidation rate. The increases in the rates of alcohol oxidation and urea nitrogen production through the addition of alanine and glutamine indicate that these amino acids have contributed to the enhanced supply of pyruvate through the urea cycle. Based on these results, it is concluded that the dietary supplementation of alanine and glutamine could contribute to increased alcohol detoxification through the urea cycle, by enhancing the supply of pyruvate and $NAD^+$to ensure accelerated rates of alcohol oxidation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.1182-1187
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• 2003

Two experiments involving 92 crossbred, 21 day old weaned pigs were used to evaluate the effect of glutamine supplement in a dietary or culture medium on lymphocyte proliferation. In Exp. 1, 88 pigs were fed diets supplemented with 0, 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5% glutamine for 28 days. Lymphocytes were prepared from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), ileal Peyer's patches (PP), the mesenteric lymph node (MLN), and the spleen in each dietary supplement group on days 7, 14, or 28 postweaning. Lymphocytes were cultured at $37^{\circ}C$ for 72 h in a RPMI-1640 medium with or without mitogen-stimulated, and pulsed with 3Hthymidine for an additional 18 h. The stimulation index of PBMC proliferation in 1.0% dietary glutamine supplement group and both of the MLN and splenocytes proliferation in 1.5% dietary glutamine supplement group was significantly (p<0.05) increased at 14 days postweaning. In Exp. 2, four weaned pigs were fed a basal diet for 14 days. The 3H-thymidine incorporation of PBMC, PP, and MLN cells, incubated with 0.125 to 0.25 mM glutamine in culture medium were markedly enhanced with Con A-stimulated, however, the splenocyte proliferation was not affected in the addition of glutamine medium. These observations suggest that dietary glutamine supplement might enhance the lymphocyte proliferation of weaned pigs.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2007

The aim of this study was to examine whether administration of glutamine are able to prevent the methotrexate induced gut barrier damage, bacterial translocation, and weight changes. The animals with glutamine were fed with L-glutamine (1.2 and 2.4 mg/kg/day) for 7 days before methotrexate administration (20 mg/kg orally). 48 hour after methotrexate administration, intestinal permeability were measured for an assessment of the gut barrier dysfunction. Also, enteric aerobic bacterial counts, number of gram-negatives in mesenteric lymph node (MLN), liver spleen, kidney and heart were measured for an assessment of the enteric bacterial number and bacterial translocation. Amounts of food intake, body weight changes and organ weight changes of liver spleen, kidney and heart were measured. Methotrexate administration caused body and liver weight loss regardless amounts of food intakes. Methotrexate induced increasing intestinal permeability, enteric bacterial undergrowth and bacterial translocation to MLN, liver and spleen, but not kidney and heart. The supplements with glutamine reduced the intestinal permeability bacterial translocation, and not influences enteric bacterial number, and body and liver weight changes. This study suggested that glutamine might effectively reduce methotrexate induced intestinal damage and bacterial translocation, but not influence body and organ weight loss.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.8
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• pp.1167-1174
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• 2013

Cancer cells exhibit increased demand for glutamine-derived carbons to support anabolic processes. Indeed, the spectrum of glutamine-dependent tumors and the mechanisms through which glutamine supports cancer metabolism remain areas of active investigation. In the present study, we investigated the effects of glutamine deprivation on the correlation between tightening of tight junctions (TJs) and anti-invasive activity in human prostate carcinoma LnCap cells. Glutamine deprivation markedly inhibited cell motility and invasiveness in a time-dependent manner. The anti-invasive activity of glutamine deprivation was associated with an increased tightness of the TJ, which was demonstrated by an increase in transepithelial electrical resistance (TER). The activities of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 were inhibited in a time-dependent fashion by glutamine deprivation, which was correlated with a decrease in expression of their mRNA and proteins and up-regulation of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) expression. Furthermore, glutamine deprivation repressed the levels of the claudin family members, which are major components of TJs that play a key role in the control and selectivity of paracellular transport. Moreover, the levels of E-cadherin, a type I transmembrane glycoprotein, and snail, an epithelial to mesenchymal transition regulator and zinc finger transcription factor, were markedly modulated by glutamine deprivation. Taken together, these findings suggest that TJs and MMPs are critical targets of glutamine deprivation-induced anti-invasion in human prostate carcinoma LnCap cells.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.926-932
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• 2013

Glutamine and serum are essential for cell survival and proliferation in vitro, yet the signaling pathways that sense glutamine and serum levels in endothelial cells remain uninvestigated. In this study, we examined the effects of glutamine deprivation and serum starvation on the fate of endothelial cells using a human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) model. Our data indicated that glutamine deprivation and serum starvation trigger a progressive reduction in cell viability through apoptosis induction in HUVECs as determined by DAPI staining and flow cytometry analysis. Although the apoptotic effects were more predominant in the glutamine deprivation condition, both apoptotic actions were associated with an increase in the Bax/Bcl-2 (or Bcl-xL) ratio, down-regulation of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family proteins, activation of caspase activities, and concomitant degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases. Moreover, down-regulation of the expression of Bid or up-regulation of truncated Bid (tBid) were observed in cells grown under the same conditions, indicating that glutamine deprivation and serum starvation induce the apoptosis of HUVECs through a signaling cascade involving death-receptor-mediated extrinsic pathways, as well as mitochondria-mediated intrinsic caspase pathways. However, apoptosis was not induced in cells grown in glutamine- and serum-free media when compared with cells exposed to glutamine deprivation or serum starvation alone. Taken together, our data indicate that glutamine deprivation and serum starvation suppress cell viability without apoptosis induction in HUVECs.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.832-837
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• 2013

In this study, it was investigated the possible mechanisms by which glutamine deprivation exerts its anti-proliferative action in cultured human prostate carcinoma PC3 cells. Glutamine deprivation resulted in inhibition of growth and G2/M arrest of the cell cycle in a time-dependent manner without apoptosis induction, as determined by MTT assay, DAPI staining and flow cytometry analyses. The induction of G2/M arrest by glutamine deprivation was associated with the inhibition of expression of Cdc2, cyclin A and cyclin B1, and up-regulation of the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitor p21(WAF1/CIP1) in both transcriptional and translational levels. Moreover, glutamine deprivation increased the phosphorylation of checkpoint kinase (Chk)1 and Chk2; however, the levels of Cdc25C phosphorylation were decreased in response to glutamine deprivation in a time-dependent manner. Our data provide a first biochemical evidence that glutamine deprivation suppresses cell viability through G2/M phase arrest without induction of apoptosis in PC3 cells.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.200-207
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• 1994

A biosensor for the measurement of L-glutamine has been constructed by immobilizing the slice of Wistar rat kidney and it's organelle on $NH_3$ gas-sensing electrode. The effects of pH, buffer solution, temperature and thickness of slice were investigated in order to optimize electrode response. The tissue sensor had the linearity in the range of L-glutamine concentration $8.0{\times}10^{-5}{\sim}1.0{\times}10^{-2} M$ with a slope of 53.8 mV/decade in 0.05 M phosphate buffer solution, pH 7.8 at $30^{\circ}C$, and optimum thickness of slice and response time were 30 ${\mu}m$ and 3∼5 min, respectively. The organelle sensor showed the linearity within L-glutamine concentration range of $1.2{\times}10^{-4}{\sim}5.0{\times}10^{-3} M$ with a slope of 54.0 mV/decade in 0.05 M phosphate buffer solution, pH 7.8 at $30^{\circ}C$, and response time was 6∼7 min, respectively. Thus, it is clear that the tissue and organelle sensor will be useful for L-glutamine measurements.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.97-103
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• 1991

Glutamine phosphoribosylpyrophosphate amidotransferase of Streptomyces tubercidicus was purified and characterized. Molecular weight of the isolated enzyme was determined to be approximately 230,000 and was composed foru identical subunits having a molecular weight of 58,000. This enzyme was strongly inhibited by AMP while considerably inhibited by ATP and GTP. Inhibition effect of enzyme activity by AMP was antagonized by increased concentration of substrate, PRPP, and metal ion (especially, $Mg^{++}$) was essential in both catalytic activity and nucleotide inhibition of this enzyme. Therefore, it was confirmed that end product inhibition of glutamine phosphoribosylpyrophosphate amidotransferase by adenine participated in the regulation of tubercidin biosynthesis from Streptomyces tubercidicus.s.