Give and take: competition for BCAAs in the tumour microenvironment

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is often characterized by substantial amounts of fibrosis, and how these stromal components affect metabolite availability is not fully understood. Zhu et al. now show that cancer-associated fibroblasts consume branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) at high levels but release corresponding branched-chain α-ketoacids that support PDAC cell growth.