Several Faces of Glutaminase Regulation in Cells

The cancer target glutaminase (GLS) has proven to be a fascinating protein. Since it was first described to be regulated by the oncogene Myc 10 years ago, several other transcriptional, posttranscriptional, and posttranslational regulatory mechanisms have emerged, and the list is growing. A recent study by Deng and colleagues revealed that an antisense (AS) long noncoding RNA named GLS-AS, which is negatively regulated by Myc, downregulates GLS in pancreatic cancer. The Myc/GLS-AS/GLS regulatory axis is activated by nutrient stress, which is important for the often hypovascular pancreatic cancer, displaying the significance of GLS for the progression of this highly lethal type of cancer. See related article by Deng et al., p. 1398