ASNS (Asparagine synthetase)

challisensis NRRL 12255 produces the aromatic polyketide TLN-05220, which exhibits nanomolar activity against antibiotic-resistant human pathogens, including vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus...Alanine racemization and pseudodipeptide l-serine-Cβ-N-d-alanine (d,l-PDP) incorporation into TLN-05220 were further supported using deuterated intermediates and mass spectrometry techniques. Establishing the enzymes that catalyze amino acid installation within TLN-05220 inspires further biosynthetic discovery and engineering while enabling the biocatalytic syntheses of novel amino acid-containing polyketide antibiotics.

These findings demonstrate that asparagine synthetase contributes to tumor growth and metabolic adaptability in small cell lung cancer. The results support a functional role for asparagine synthetase in malignant progression and suggest that targeting asparagine metabolism may represent a potential therapeutic approach in aggressive small cell lung cancer.

challisensis NRRL 12255 produces the aromatic polyketide TLN-05220, which exhibits nanomolar activity against antibiotic-resistant human pathogens including vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus...Alanine racemization and Tln5 pseudodipeptide L-serine-Cβ- N -D-alanine (D,L-PDP) incorporation into TLN-05220 were further supported using deuterated intermediates and mass spectrometry techniques. Establishing the enzymes that catalyze amino acid installation within TLN-05220 inspires further biosynthetic discovery and engineering while enabling the biocatalytic syntheses of novel amino acid-containing polyketide antibiotics.

Based on in vitro kinetic and thermal shift assays, we find that ASX-173 binds to the ASNS/Mg 2+ /ATP complex and is therefore a rare example of an uncompetitive enzyme inhibitor with potential therapeutic use. These findings provide a structural and mechanistic basis for targeting ASNS with small molecules, which have application in treating cancer and other human diseases.

ASNS promotes anti-tumor immunity in NSCLC via regulating immunogenicity of cancer cells and immune microenvironment remodeling in metastatic TdLNs. Lung cancer cell-intrinsic ASNS appears to be a promising marker for anti-PD-1-based neoadjuvant immunotherapy.

However, when a panel of patient derived xenograft models representing a range of pASNSmet levels was tested we found that high pASNSmet levels were required but not necessarily sufficient to confer sensitivity to treatment with Asparlas. Collectively, these results are in support of ASNS promoter hypermethylation as a targetable phenotype but indicate that pASNSmet alone is not a viable biomarker of this phenotype, and that significant advancements in our understanding of the underlying biology may be required before asparaginase-depleting therapy can be successfully implemented clinically in HCC.

The in vivo xenograft mouse model confirmed that ASPG-OE CAR-T cells exhibited superior anticancer activity against NALM6-GL cancer cells, while ASPG-KO CAR-T cells exhibited inferior anticancer activity. Taken together, ASPG orchestrates CAR-T cell distinct phenotype toward central memory T cells and reprogramming of asparagine metabolism for the enhancing antitumor immunity.

This study reveals a previously unrecognized anti-TNBC mechanism of CCT196969 through the HDAC5/RXRA/ASNS axis. This provides potential candidate targets for the treatment of TNBC and a theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of TNBC patients with CCT196969.

ASNS knockdown sensitized HCC cells to CB-839 both in vitro and in vivo. Overall, ASNS modulated the sensitivity to CB-839 in HCC through metabolic reprogramming, potentially serving as a biomarker for CB-839 response and a promising therapeutic target for HCC.

In this study, to discover other natural covalent ASNS inhibitors, we used a Lys derivative (N-Boc-l-Lys) to target Lys-reactive metabolites in crude extract of the fungus Stachybotrys ruwenzoriensis RF-6853. We discovered three new meroterpenoids possessing an o-phthalaldehyde moiety, stachybenzals A-C (1-3), with ASNS inhibitory activity.

Multiple strategies have emerged to disrupt this dependence: glutamine antagonists (DON and its prodrugs DRP-104, JHU-083), small-molecule glutaminase inhibitors (CB-839), antibody-drug conjugates targeting the ASCT2 transporter, and combination regimens pairing glutamine blockade with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Nanoparticle formulations-including pH-sensitive and PEGylated liposomes co-delivering DON and gemcitabine-enable targeted delivery and reduce off-target toxicity...To overcome these escape routes, future interventions must concurrently target compensatory pathways and integrate biomarker-driven patient selection. Combining glutamine-targeted agents with inhibitors of asparagine synthesis or lipid oxidation, guided by multi-omics profiling, promises a more durable therapeutic benefit and lays the groundwork for personalized treatment of PDAC.

From a therapeutic perspective, both the genetic suppression of FAM50A and pharmacological inhibition of asparagine synthesis effectively counteract BCBM. Our results highlight the importance of the FAM50A-ASNS signaling pathway in BCBM therapy.