Human L‑asparaginase: Acquiring knowledge of its activation (Review)

  • Authors:
    • Stephanie Bath De Morais
    • Tatiana De Arruda Campos Brasil De Souza
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: February 24, 2021     https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2021.5191
  • Article Number: 11
Metrics: Total Views: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )
Total PDF Downloads: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )


Abstract

L‑asparaginase enzymes have been a vital component of acute lymphoblastic leukemia therapy for >40 years. L‑asparaginase acts by depleting plasma L‑asparagine, which is essential to the survival of leukemia cells. In contrast to normal cells, tumor cells cannot synthesize L‑asparagine and thus depend on its external uptake for growth. Currently, three bacterial L‑asparaginases are used in therapy; however, they are associated with severe side‑effects related to high toxicity and immunogenicity. The introduction of human L‑asparaginase‑like protein 1 in acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment would avoid the problems caused by the bacterial enzymes; however, a major difficulty in the therapeutic use of the human enzyme comes from the fact that human L‑asparaginase must be activated through an autoprocessing step, which is a low‑efficiency process in vitro that results in reduced enzymatic activity. The present review article aimed to contribute to the understanding of the enzyme self‑activation process and focuses on the efforts made for the development of a therapeutic variant of human L‑asparaginase.
View Figures
View References

Related Articles

Journal Cover

April-2021
Volume 58 Issue 4

Print ISSN: 1019-6439
Online ISSN:1791-2423

Sign up for eToc alerts

Recommend to Library

Copy and paste a formatted citation
x
Spandidos Publications style
De Morais SB and De Morais SB: Human L‑asparaginase: Acquiring knowledge of its activation (Review). Int J Oncol 58: 11, 2021
APA
De Morais, S.B., & De Morais, S.B. (2021). Human L‑asparaginase: Acquiring knowledge of its activation (Review). International Journal of Oncology, 58, 11. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2021.5191
MLA
De Morais, S. B., De Souza, T. D."Human L‑asparaginase: Acquiring knowledge of its activation (Review)". International Journal of Oncology 58.4 (2021): 11.
Chicago
De Morais, S. B., De Souza, T. D."Human L‑asparaginase: Acquiring knowledge of its activation (Review)". International Journal of Oncology 58, no. 4 (2021): 11. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2021.5191