Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.
Department of Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2018 Aug;41:12-19. doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2018.04.003. Epub 2018 Apr 17.
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is amongst the most aggressive human malignancies, representing a significant health burden worldwide. Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic process that degrades and recycles damaged organelles and misfolded proteins to maintain cellular homeostasis. Alterations in autophagy are associated with cancer pathogenesis, including ESCC; however, the functional role of autophagy in ESCC remains elusive. Here, we discuss the clinical relevance of autophagy effectors in ESCC and review current knowledge regarding the molecular mechanisms through which autophagy contributes to ESCC. We highlight the cytoprotective role of autophagy in ESCC and discuss autophagy inhibitors as novel experimental therapeutics to potentiate the effects of anti-cancer therapies and/or to overcome therapeutic resistance in ESCC.
食管鳞状细胞癌（ESCC）是最具侵袭性的人类恶性肿瘤之一，在全球范围内造成了巨大的健康负担。自噬是一种进化上保守的降解途径，可降解和回收受损的细胞器和错误折叠的蛋白质，以维持细胞内环境稳定。自噬的改变与癌症的发病机制有关，包括 ESCC；然而，自噬在 ESCC 中的功能作用仍然难以捉摸。在这里，我们讨论了自噬效应物在 ESCC 中的临床相关性，并综述了目前关于自噬促进 ESCC 发生的分子机制的知识。我们强调了自噬在 ESCC 中的细胞保护作用，并讨论了自噬抑制剂作为新型实验治疗药物，以增强抗癌治疗的效果和/或克服 ESCC 中的治疗抵抗。
