Amino Acid Utilization Analysis Service

Competitive Utilization of Amino Acids in TME Affects the Function of Immune Cells

The ongoing metabolic exchange between tumor cells and immune populations, particularly regarding amino acid utilization, critically influences both immune responses against cancers and treatment efficacy. As key players in adaptive immunity, T cells depend on finely-tuned amino acid uptake systems and metabolic adaptations to maintain their anti-tumor functions. Meanwhile, cancer cells hijack these same nutrients to support their aggressive growth, metastatic potential, and creation of immune-suppressive microenvironments. This nutrient competition acts as both a cellular fitness marker and a predictor of treatment responsiveness. Emerging techniques for monitoring real-time amino acid distribution patterns now offer unprecedented insights into tumor-immune communication, creating valuable diagnostic tools for optimizing immunotherapy approaches and anticipating resistance mechanisms.

Fig.1 Human diet impacts endogenous metabolite synthesis and CD8⁺ T cell metabolic control.^1,3

Amino Acid Utilization Analysis Service at Creative Biolabs

At Creative Biolabs, we specialize in advanced amino acid utilization analysis, helping researchers decode the complex roles that amino acids play in biological processes. By employing state-of-the-art methods, we generate precise metabolite profiles, characterize metabolic enzymes, and integrate multi-omics data to uncover actionable biological insights. Our services support diverse research areas—from tumor metabolism studies to biomass analysis—accelerating discoveries in drug development, nutrition science, and related fields.

Every step of our workflow prioritizes data reliability, with stringent quality checks spanning standardized sample processing, analytical validation, and cross-platform verification. To enhance usability, we pair intuitive data visualization tools with customizable report formats, ensuring seamless integration of results into your research pipeline. Trust our expertise to deliver robust, interpretable data that drives your scientific innovation forward.

• Mass Spectrometry:

This analytical workhorse serves as the gold standard for quantifying amino acid metabolites in CD8⁺ T cells, enabling precise tracking of dynamic shifts during T cell activation, differentiation, and effector phase transitions.

• Isotope Tracing:

By employing stable isotope tracers (e.g., ¹³C/¹⁵N-labeled amino acids), we map metabolic routing through central carbon and nitrogen pathways. These tracer studies expose real-time metabolic rewiring events, clarifying how CD8⁺ T cells prioritize amino acid utilization under varying functional states.

• Enzyme Activity Assays:

Quantitative measurements of rate-limiting enzymes (e.g., GLS1, IDO1) reveal bottlenecks in amino acid catabolism. Kinetic analyses using substrate-specific fluorogenic probes pinpoint enzymatic activity changes driving metabolic adaptations.

• Gene Expression Analysis:

Parallel RNA-seq and RT-qPCR workflows dissect transcriptional regulation of metabolic machinery. This dual-axis approach connects enzyme-coding gene expression patterns (e.g., ASCT2, LAT1 transporters) with functional metabolic outputs in activated CD8⁺ T cells.

• Proliferation Dynamics:

High-throughput thymidine incorporation assays evaluate proliferation rates under defined amino acid conditions, directly linking specific metabolite availability to clonal expansion capacity.

• Cytokine Secretion Profiling:

Multiplex ELISA assays quantify effector cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, granzyme B), establishing metabolic checkpoints controlling cytotoxic programming. Flow cytometric bead arrays further resolve single-cell cytokine production heterogeneity.

• Target Cell Lysis Capacity:

Real-time impedance-based killing assays and calcein-AM release measurements provide kinetic readouts of cytotoxic potency, correlating amino acid dependencies with target cell elimination efficiency.

• Advanced data fusion pipelines cross-interrogate metabolomic profiles with RNA-seq datasets and phosphoproteomic signatures. This tripartite integration exposes multilayer regulation of amino acid metabolism—from epigenetic modifiers shaping metabolic gene expression to post-translational enzyme modifications altering pathway flux. Systems biology modeling of these datasets identifies master metabolic regulators governing CD8⁺ T cell functional plasticity.

Highlights

Associated Services

In addition, we also deliver a series of related services to characterize CD8⁺ T cells and evaluate your targeted therapeutics, which include:

• Physiological CD8⁺ T Cell Metabolic Profiling Service
• Tumor Microenvironment (TME) CD8⁺ T Cell Metabolic Profiling Service
• Glucose Uptake Quantification Service
• Tumor Microenvironment (TME) Hypoxia and Acidity Assessment Service
• Comprehensive Metabolite Profiling Service
• Key Cytokine Expression Analysis Service

Creative Biolabs is a professional T cell research organization with extensive expertise and a strong practical base. Whether you require a detailed analysis of amino acid metabolites, metabolic enzyme characterization, integrated multi-omics insights, and investigation of signal pathways that regulate amino acid metabolism, please don't hesitate to contact us to discover how our service supports your projects.

Reference

1. Zhou, Zihao, et al. "Optimizing CD8⁺ T cell-based immunotherapy via metabolic interventions: a comprehensive review of intrinsic and extrinsic modulators." Experimental Hematology & Oncology 13.1 (2024): 103. Distributed under Open Access License CC BY 4.0. The original image was extracted, and part A was used, and the title was changed to "Human diet impacts endogenous metabolite synthesis and CD8⁺ T cell metabolic control".