Starvation in cancer cells: circulating arginine is good for cancer but bad for patients

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Currently, basic understanding of heterogeneity and complexity of tumors is depicted at molecular, cellular, genetic, epigenetic and metabolic adaptations levels.

Areas covered: There are appreciable numbers of views to pinpoint signaling axis that support metabolic adaptations of cancer cells in response to environmental pressures including nutritional factors and drug treatments. Specifically, nutritional deprivation and autophagy in certain types of cancer are linked to the abilities of cancer cells to use arginine in an auxotrophic or prototrophic manner.

Expert opinion: Hence, this paper highlights the current scope of arginine- and autophagy-centered metabolic adaptations across tumor types and possible avenues to bring tumors towards cytotoxic or cytostatic death.

KEYWORDS:

• Metabolism
• neoplasms
• death
• arginine
• autophagy
• therapy

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge DPU, Pune, India for resources and funding support.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was funded by Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, India, grant number [DPU/06/11/2016].