Cancer / Tumors & Kynurenine (Kyn)

Tryptophan (TRP) metabolite Kynurenine (Kyn) is present in higher amounts in the plasma of advanced-stage cancer patients
Su et al. 2022 Cells 11: 2296

Kynurenine (Kyn) itself, produced by Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase (IDO)-positive

• melanomas,
  Liu et al. 2018e Cancer Cell 33: 480–494


• ovarian cancer,
  Litzenburger et al. 2014 Oncotarget 5: 1038-1051
  Amobi-McCloud et al. 2021 Front Immunol 12: 678999


• head and neck squamous cell carcinomas, and
  Mishra et al. 2016 Oncotarget 7: 81341-81356


• Colorectal Cancer (CRC),
  Zhang et al. 2021 Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol 12: 1179-1199
  induces potent immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment (TME).

Dysregulation of the kynurenine pathway could contribute to cancer development by disrupting the antitumoral immune response
Adams et al. 2012 Cancer Res. 72: 5649–5657
Platten et al. 2019 Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 18: 379-401

The expression of Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase (IDO) and Tryptophan 2,3 Dioxygenase (TDO), two main enzymes contributing to tryptophan degradation, has been linked to various cancers such as melanoma, colon cancer, gynecological malignancies, lung cancer, gliomas, and bladder cancer
Théate et al. 2015 Cancer Immunol. Rese 3: 161–172
Amobi et al. 2017 in Tumor Immune Microenvironment in Cancer Progression and Cancer Therapy, ed. P. Kalinski (Cham: Springer) 129–144
Platten et al. 2019 Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 18: 379-401

In addition, the involvement of the kynurenine pathway metabolites such as kynurenine, quinolinic acid, and 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid in cancer progression has been previously investigated
Adams et al. 2012 Cancer Res. 72: 5649–5657

see also:
Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) & Localisation / Occurence
Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) & Tumor Immunity
Butyrate / Butyric acid & Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase (IDO)
Cancer Immunotherapy / Immuno-Oncology
Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase (IDO)