Discovery: The Rosetta team in Nature Genetics have demonstrated that the amino acid transporter SLC7A5 is required for efficient growth of KRAS-mutant colorectal cancer (CRC). SLC7A5 mediates the transmembrane trafficking of glutamine in exchange for essential amino acids that sustain cell growth, also referred to as an antiporter* in the paper, and has been shown to be critical for tumour development in early and late-stage mouse models of CRC.

Methods: This was achieved using a combination of approaches, including 3D cell culture (organoids), the generation of genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) [early and late stage carcinoma] and the analysis of human CRC samples. 

*An antiporter (also called exchanger or counter-transporter) is a cotransporter and integral membrane protein involved in secondary active transport of two or more different molecules or ions across a phospholipid membrane such as the plasma membrane in opposite directions, one into the cell and one out of the cell.