Targeting aberrant amino acid metabolism for pancreatic cancer therapy: Opportunities for nanoparticles

•Aberrant metabolism fuels pancreatic cancer progression & treatment.•Amine acid metabolism key in PDAC's energy, defense, growth.•Anti-amine acid strategies show promise vs. PDAC.•Nanotech enhances anti-metabolic therapy options. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most fatal malignancies with insidious initiation and early metastasis. The autonomous reprogramming of amino acid metabolism in PDAC cells is vital for the rapid growth of tumor. The amino acids and metabolites are deeply involved with energy production, redox balance, signal transduction, drug resistance, and immune process, etc., which provide much more opportunities for the investigation and final treatment of PDAC. Studies in the field have identified numerous targets and therapeutic agents for PDAC treatment. Nanotechnology further offers more possibilities to achieve better therapeutic effects as a drug delivery system, fabricating tumor targeting, efficient cargo release, and minor off-target effects. More importantly, combining anti-amino acid metabolism with other therapeutic strategies in one nanocarrier may further augment the antitumor efficacy. These studies highlight the potent potential of anti-amino acid metabolism for PDAC therapy, though it remains challenging and far from clinical applications. In this review, we aimed to introduce the characteristics of amino acid metabolism in PDAC and then summarize the associated targets and agents for PDAC therapy. Furthermore, the use of nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems targeting amino acid metabolism for tumor treatment is also discussed. We hope this review can spark the interest of experts in pancreatic cancer treatment.