Tumor cells have an increased demand for amino acids because of their rapid proliferation rate. In addition to their need in protein synthesis, several amino acids have other roles in supporting cancer growth. There are approximately two-dozen amino acid transporters in humans, and tumor cells must upregulate one or more of these transporters to satisfy their demand for amino acids. If the transporters that specifically serve this purpose in tumor cells are identified, they can be targeted for the development of a brand new class of anticancer drugs; the logical basis of such a strategy would be to starve the tumor cells of an important class of nutrients. To date, four amino acid transporters have been found to be expressed at high levels in cancer: SLC1A5, SLC7A5, SLC7A11, and SLC6A14. Their induction occurs in a cancer type–specific manner with a direct or indirect involvement of the oncogene c-Myc. Further, these transporters are functionally coupled, thus maximizing their ability to promote cancer growth and chemoresistance. Progress has been made in preclinical studies, exploiting these transporters as drug targets in cancer therapy. These transporters also show promise in development of new tumor-imaging probes and in tumor-specific delivery of appropriately designed chemotherapeutic agents. Cancer Res; 75(9); 1–7. ©2015 AACR.

Targeted nano-drug delivery systems conjugated with specific ligands to target selective cell-surface receptors or transporters could enhance the efficacy of drug delivery and therapy. Transporters are expressed differentially on the cell-surface of different cell types, and also specific transporters are expressed at higher than normal levels in selective cell types under pathological conditions. They also play a key role in intestinal absorption, delivery via non-oral routes (e.g., pulmonary route and nasal route), and transfer across biological barriers (e.g., blood–brain barrier and blood–retinal barrier. As such, the cell-surface transporters represent ideal targets for nano-drug delivery systems to facilitate drug delivery to selective cell types under normal or pathological conditions and also to avoid off-target adverse side effects of the drugs. There is increasing evidence in recent years supporting the utility of cell-surface transporters in the field of nano-drug delivery to increase oral bioavailability, to improve transfer across the blood–brain barrier, and to enhance delivery of therapeutics in a cell-type selective manner in disease states. Here we provide a comprehensive review of recent advancements in this interesting and important area. We also highlight certain key aspects that need to be taken into account for optimal development of transporter-assisted nano-drug delivery systems.