Folate transporter offers clues for anticancer drugs – Nature.com

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Larry H. Matherly is at the Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA.
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Zhanjun Hou is at the Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA.
You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar
The transport protein SLC19A1, better known as the reduced folate carrier, resides in the cell membrane. It has been studied for decades because it is the main tissue transporter of the B9 vitamins (called folates), which are required for reactions needed to make certain types of nucleotide and to make the amino-acid residues serine and methionine¹. SLC19A1 also happens to be the main transporter of the drugs methotrexate and pemetrexed — which are called antifolates, because they block the action of folates. These drugs are used in the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis¹. In 2019, a new role for SLC19A1 was identified, as a transporter of signalling molecules called cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs), which stimulate a wide range of immune-system cellular responses^2,3.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03767-5
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The authors declare no competing interests.
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University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
Baltimore, MD, MD, United States
University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
Chicago, IL, United States
University of Toronto (U of T)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
University of Ottawa (uOttawa)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Read the paper: Recognition of cyclic dinucleotides and folates by human SLC19A1
cGAS-like receptors put a sting into the evolution of immune defence
A toxin that fuels metabolism
See all News & Views
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