Abstract: Glutamine is a nonessential amino acid that can be synthesized by cells, nevertheless, it is important for the growth and proliferation of the in vitro cultured mammalian cells. During the proliferation of tumor cellss, glutamine goes far beyond satisfying protein synthesis, also as an indispensable donor of reduced nitrogen for purine and pyrimidine synthesis. Studies showed that the survival of glutamine-addicted cancer cells were relied on glutamine, and the glutamine utilization was reprogrammed through the Krebs cycle. It was reported that blocking glutamine into the tricarboxylic acid cycle in high-invasive ovarian cancer cells, or inhibiting glutamine synthesis in low-invasive ovarian cancer cells, could be a potential treatment for ovarian cancer. Glutamine metabolism is associated with poor prognosis of ovarian cancer; the chemotherapy based on platinum and combined with the inhibition of glutamine metabolism could be a new treatment strategy of ovarian cancer, especially for drug-resistant ovarian cancer. We review the research progress on the glutamine metabolism of ovarian cancer cells and its function in cell proliferation, invasion and drug resistance, and discuss the possibility of glutamine metabolism as a biomarker or target for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of ovarian cancer.

Key words: Ovarian neoplasms, Glutamine, Glutaminase, Tumor metabolism, Energy demand