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Updated: Jul 4, 2025

Author Spotlight: Expression and Purification of Human Solute Carrier Transporters Using Codon-Optimized Genes
Published on: September 29, 2023
Comprehensive review of amino acid transporters as therapeutic targets
Ran Xia1, Hai-Feng Peng1, Xing Zhang1
1College of Chemistry and Life Science, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan 100(#), District of Chaoyang, Beijing 100124, China.
Abstract:
The solute carrier (SLC) family, with more than 400 membrane-bound proteins, facilitates the transport of a wide array of substrates such as nutrients, ions, metabolites, and drugs across biological membranes. Amino acid transporters (AATs) are membrane transport proteins that mediate transfer of amino acids into and out of cells or cellular organelles. AATs participate in many important physiological functions including nutrient supply, metabolic transformation, energy homeostasis, redox regulation, and neurological regulation. Several AATs have been found to significantly impact the progression of human malignancies, and dysregulation of AATs results in metabolic reprogramming affecting tumor growth and progression. However, current clinical therapies that directly target AATs have not been developed. The purpose of this review is to highlight the structural and functional diversity of AATs, the molecular mechanisms in human diseases such as tumors, kidney diseases, and emerging therapeutic strategies for targeting AATs.
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