Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is often characterized by substantial amounts of fibrosis, and how these stromal components affect metabolite availability is not fully understood. Zhu et al. now show that cancer-associated fibroblasts consume branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) at high levels but release corresponding branched-chain α-ketoacids that support PDAC cell growth.
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Ericksen, R.E., Han, W. Give and take: competition for BCAAs in the tumour microenvironment. Nat Metab 2, 657–658 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-020-0239-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-020-0239-0
