Glutaminase 2 as a therapeutic target in glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant primary adult brain tumor. Despite standard-of-care treatment, which consists of surgical resection, temozolomide (TMZ) treatment, and radiotherapy, the prognosis for GBM patients remains poor with a five-year survival rate of 5 %. With treatment, the median survival time is 14 months, suggesting the dire need for new, more effective therapies. Glutaminolysis, the metabolic pathway by which cells can convert glutamine to ATP, is essential for the survival of GBM cells and represents a putative target for treatment. Glutamine replenishes tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates through glutaminolysis. The first step of glutaminolysis, the deamination of glutamine, can be carried out by either glutaminase 1 (GLS) or glutaminase 2 (GLS2). However, it is becoming increasingly clear that these enzymes have opposing functions in GBM; GLS induces deamination of glutamine, thereby acting in an oncogenic fashion, while GLS2 has non-enzymatic, tumor-suppressive functions that are repressed in GBM. In this review, we explore the important role of glutaminolysis and the opposing roles of GLS and GLS2 in GBM. Further, we provide a detailed discussion of GLS2's newly discovered non-enzymatic functions that can be targeted in GBM. We conclude by considering therapeutic approaches that have emerged from the understanding of GLS and GLS2's opposing roles in GBM.