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Folate transporter offers clues for anticancer drugs

Structural insights into a long-studied folate-transport protein provide evidence that might lead to entirely new targeted anticancer treatments, or boost the success of immunotherapy approaches to tackling tumours.
  1. Larry H. Matherly

    1. Larry H. Matherly is at the Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA.

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  2. Zhanjun Hou

    1. Zhanjun Hou is at the Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA.

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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 responses2,3.

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Nature 612, 39-41 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03767-5

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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