Abstract
Autophagy is a catabolic process whereby cells maintain homeostasis by eliminating unnecessary proteins and damaged organelles. It may be triggered under physiological conditions, such as nutrient starvation, or in response to a variety of stress stimuli, such as exposure to radiations or cytotoxic compounds. Although autophagy is basically a protective mechanism that sustains cell survival under adverse conditions, it has been recently demonstrated that the induction of autophagic process may ultimately lead to cell death. As for the role of autophagy in cancer, it is still very controversial whether it suppresses tumorigenesis or provides cancer cells with a rescue mechanism under unfavourable conditions. Therefore, the dual role of autophagy in tumor progression and in the response of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs is still open to debate. The first part of this review describes the cellular events occurring during the various phases of the autophagic process. Special attention has been given to the morphological aspects and the regulatory molecules involved in autophagic cell death. Specifically, we have focused on the proteins necessary for autophagosome formation, encoded by the ATG (AuTophaGy-related gene) gene family, and their role in the regulation of the process of autophagy. We also examined the effects of autophagy modulators on cell survival and cell death and discussed the recent efforts aimed at finding novel agents that activate or inhibit autophagy by targeting regulatory molecules of the complex autophagy pathways.
Keywords: Targeted cancer therapy, autophagy, cell death, autophagy regulators
Current Cancer Drug Targets
Title: Autophagy: Molecular Mechanisms and their Implications for Anticancer Therapies
Volume: 11 Issue: 3
Author(s): S. Meschini, M. Condello, P. Lista and G. Arancia
Affiliation:
Keywords: Targeted cancer therapy, autophagy, cell death, autophagy regulators
Abstract: Autophagy is a catabolic process whereby cells maintain homeostasis by eliminating unnecessary proteins and damaged organelles. It may be triggered under physiological conditions, such as nutrient starvation, or in response to a variety of stress stimuli, such as exposure to radiations or cytotoxic compounds. Although autophagy is basically a protective mechanism that sustains cell survival under adverse conditions, it has been recently demonstrated that the induction of autophagic process may ultimately lead to cell death. As for the role of autophagy in cancer, it is still very controversial whether it suppresses tumorigenesis or provides cancer cells with a rescue mechanism under unfavourable conditions. Therefore, the dual role of autophagy in tumor progression and in the response of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs is still open to debate. The first part of this review describes the cellular events occurring during the various phases of the autophagic process. Special attention has been given to the morphological aspects and the regulatory molecules involved in autophagic cell death. Specifically, we have focused on the proteins necessary for autophagosome formation, encoded by the ATG (AuTophaGy-related gene) gene family, and their role in the regulation of the process of autophagy. We also examined the effects of autophagy modulators on cell survival and cell death and discussed the recent efforts aimed at finding novel agents that activate or inhibit autophagy by targeting regulatory molecules of the complex autophagy pathways.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Meschini S., Condello M., Lista P. and Arancia G., Autophagy: Molecular Mechanisms and their Implications for Anticancer Therapies, Current Cancer Drug Targets 2011; 11 (3) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/156800911794519707
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/156800911794519707 |
Print ISSN 1568-0096 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-5576 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Advances in Cancer Biomarkers and Potential Drug Targets: From Diagnosis to Therapy
Cancer biomarkers play a crucial role in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of cancer. They provide valuable information for cancer detection, risk assessment, treatment selection, and monitoring response to therapy. With advancements in molecular biology and high-throughput technologies, there has been an increasing interest in identifying and characterizing cancer biomarkers ...read more
Novel Therapeutic Approaches to Target Drug Resistant Tumors
With the development of disciplines such as chemical biology and molecular biology, the genes or proteins closely related to tumor occurrence and development have gradually become clear. Targeted therapies targeting these genes or proteins provide more effective methods for tumor treatment. Tumor targeted drugs generally only act on specific targets ...read more
ROLE OF IMMUNE AND GENOTOXIC RESPONSE BIOMARKERS IN TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT IN CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
Biological biomarkers have been used in medical research as an indicator of a normal or abnormal process inside the body, or of a disease. Nowadays, various researchers are in process to explore and investigate the biological markers for the early assessment of cancer. DNA Damage response (DDR) pathways and immune ...read more
Targeting the battlefield between host and tumor: basic research and clinical practice on reshaping tumor immune microenvironment
Immune system protects host against malignant tumors through effector cells and molecules. Cancer development and its response to therapy are regulated by inflammation, which either promotes or suppresses cancer progression. Chronic inflammation facilitates cancer progression and treatment resistance, whereas induction of acute inflammatory reactions often lead to anti-cancer immune responses. ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
Related Articles
-
Clinical Trials with Oncolytic Measles Virus: Current Status and Future Prospects
Current Cancer Drug Targets Magnetic Hyperthermia with Magnetic Nanoparticles: A Status Review
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Surface Markers of Cancer Stem Cells in Solid Tumors
Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy Interrelationships of Circulating Tumor Cells with Metastasis and Thrombosis: Role of MicroRNAs
Current Pharmaceutical Design DNA Demethylation by TET Proteins: A Potential Therapeutic Target in Cancer
Epigenetic Diagnosis & Therapy (Discontinued) Natural and Engineered Cystine Knot Miniproteins for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications
Current Pharmaceutical Design Current Development of ROS-Modulating Agents as Novel Antitumor Therapy
Current Cancer Drug Targets Nanomedicine to Overcome Cancer Multidrug Resistance
Current Drug Metabolism Targeting the Perpetrator: Breast Cancer Stem Cell Therapeutics
Current Drug Targets Friend or Foe: UCHL3 Mediated Carcinogenesis and Current Approaches in Small Molecule Inhibitors’ Development
Current Medicinal Chemistry Personalized Peptide Vaccine for Treatment of Advanced Cancer
Current Medicinal Chemistry Imaging of Tumor Angiogenesis: Current Approaches and Future Prospects
Current Pharmaceutical Design Rho Kinase Inhibitors: Potential Treatments for Diabetes and Diabetic Complications
Current Pharmaceutical Design Resveratrol in Cancer: Cellular and Mitochondrial Consequences of Proton Transport Inhibition
Current Pharmaceutical Design Editorial (Hot Topic: Translational Medicine is Promoting Cross-talk of Interdiscipline)
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry The Delivery of Personalised, Precision Medicines <i>via</i> Synthetic Proteins
Drug Delivery Letters Pharmacodynamics of Memantine: An Update
Current Neuropharmacology Automated PET Radiotracer Manufacture on the BG75 System and Imaging Validation Studies of [18F]fluoromisonidazole ([18F]FMISO)
Current Radiopharmaceuticals Neurocysticercosis: The Enigmatic Disease
Central Nervous System Agents in Medicinal Chemistry New Insights Toward Nanostructured Drug Delivery of Plant-Derived Polyphenol Compounds: Cancer Treatment and Gene Expression Profiles
Current Cancer Drug Targets