xCT/SLC7A11 Antibody

The x(c)(-) cysteine/glutamate antiporter consists of a light chain subunit (xCT/SLC7A11) that confers substrate specificity and a glycosylated heavy chain subunit (4F2hc/SLC3A2) located on the cell surface (1,2). The heterodimeric amino acid transport system x(c)(-) provides selective import of cysteine into cells in exchange for glutamate and regulating intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels, which is essential for cellular protection from oxidative stress (3). Research studies have shown that xCT expression increases in various tumors, including gliomas, and have implicated xCT in GSH-mediated anticancer drug resistance (4,5). Researchers have found that xCT provides neuroprotection by enhancing glutathione export from non-neuronal cells (6). Moreover, investigators identified xCT as the fusion-entry receptor for Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (7). 1.Sato, H. et al. (2000) Antioxid Redox Signal 2, 665-71. 2.Sato, H. et al. (1999) J Biol Chem 274, 11455-8. 3.Lo, M. et al. (2008) J Cell Physiol 215, 593-602. 4.Huang, Y. et al. (2005) Cancer Res 65, 7446-54. 5.Liu, R. et al. (2007) Mol Pharmacol 72, 1637-46. 6.Shih, A.Y. et al. (2006) J Neurosci 26, 10514-23. 7.Kaleeba, J.A. and Berger, E.A. (2006) Science 311, 1921-4.