Division of Genomic Stability and DNA Repair, Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Autophagy. 2011 Aug;7(8):912-3. doi: 10.4161/auto.7.8.15762. Epub 2011 Aug 1.
Autophagy is a regulated catabolic process that leads to the lysosomal degradation of damaged proteins, organelles and other macromolecules, with subsequent recycling of bioenergetic intermediates. The role of autophagy in cancer is undoubtedly complex and likely dependent on tumor type and on the cellular and developmental context. While it has been well demonstrated that autophagy may function as a tumor suppressor, there is mounting evidence that autophagy may have pro-tumorigenic roles, e.g., promoting therapeutic resistance as well as survival under stresses such as hypoxia and nutrient deprivation. These two, seemingly disparate functions can be reconciled by a possible temporal role of autophagy during tumor development, initially suppressing tumor initiation yet supporting tumor growth at later stages.
自噬是一种受调控的分解代谢过程，导致受损蛋白质、细胞器和其他大分子被溶酶体降解，随后生物能量中间体被回收利用。自噬在癌症中的作用无疑是复杂的，可能依赖于肿瘤类型以及细胞和发育背景。虽然已经充分证明自噬可以作为肿瘤抑制因子发挥作用，但越来越多的证据表明自噬可能具有促进肿瘤发生的作用，例如，促进治疗抵抗以及在缺氧和营养缺乏等应激下的存活。自噬在肿瘤发展过程中可能具有暂时的作用，这可以解释这两种看似不同的功能，即最初抑制肿瘤起始，然而在后期支持肿瘤生长。
