Solute carrier family 38 member 2 (SNAT2) (SLC38A2)

Solute carrier family 38 member 2 (SLC38A2), also known as Sodium-coupled neutral amino acid transporter 2 (SNAT2), is a transmembrane protein that mediates the symport of neutral amino acids and sodium ions into cells (UniProt P50681; Bröer, 2014). It is a primary component of the System A transport system, characterized by its preference for small, non-branched amino acids like alanine, serine, and glutamine (NCBI Gene 54407). SNAT2 plays a critical role in cellular homeostasis, providing essential substrates for protein synthesis, gluconeogenesis, and the regulation of cell volume (Gaccioli et al., 2006). In the context of disease, SNAT2 is frequently upregulated in various cancers, where it supports the high metabolic demands of proliferating cells by facilitating glutamine uptake and activating the mTORC1 signaling pathway (Morotti et al., 2019). Beyond oncology, it is involved in metabolic regulation, particularly in the liver's response to glucagon and the development of insulin resistance (Bröer, 2014). While there are currently no FDA-approved drugs targeting SNAT2, it is an active area of research for cancer therapeutics, with small-molecule inhibitors like MeAIB being used as tool compounds to induce amino acid starvation in tumors (Morotti et al., 2019). However, its broad expression in healthy tissues like the liver and brain presents significant challenges for achieving therapeutic selectivity and avoiding systemic toxicity (Bröer, 2014).

Other names

SNAT2Sodium-coupled neutral amino acid transporter 2System A amino acid transporter 2ATA2SAT2Amino acid transporter A2Sodium/amino acid cotransporter

Competitive inhibition of amino acid uptake, leading to intracellular amino acid depletion and subsequent inhibition of the mTORC1 growth-signaling pathway.