Shin Dong Wook
College of Biomedical and Health Science, Konkuk University, Chungju 27478, Republic of Korea.
Biomol Ther (Seoul). 2020 Nov 1;28(6):503-511. doi: 10.4062/biomolther.2020.155.
Autophagy is a major catabolic process that maintains cell metabolism by degrading damaged organelles and other dysfunctional proteins via the lysosome. Abnormal regulation of this process has been known to be involved in the progression of pathophysiological diseases, such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Although the mechanisms for the regulation of autophagic pathways are relatively well known, the precise regulation of this pathway in the treatment of cancer remains largely unknown. It is still complicated whether the regulation of autophagy is beneficial in improving cancer. Many studies have demonstrated that autophagy plays a dual role in cancer by suppressing the growth of tumors or the progression of cancer development, which seems to be dependent on unknown characteristics of various cancer types. This review summarizes the key targets involved in autophagy and malignant transformation. In addition, the opposing tumor-suppressive and oncogenic roles of autophagy in cancer, as well as potential clinical therapeutics utilizing either regulators of autophagy or combinatorial therapeutics with anti-cancer drugs have been discussed.
自噬是一种主要的分解代谢过程，通过溶酶体降解受损细胞器和其他功能失调的蛋白质来维持细胞代谢。已知该过程的异常调节与病理生理疾病的进展有关，如癌症和神经退行性疾病。尽管自噬途径的调节机制相对为人所知，但该途径在癌症治疗中的精确调节在很大程度上仍不清楚。自噬调节在改善癌症方面是否有益仍然很复杂。许多研究表明，自噬在癌症中通过抑制肿瘤生长或癌症发展进程发挥双重作用，这似乎取决于各种癌症类型的未知特征。本综述总结了自噬和恶性转化中涉及的关键靶点。此外，还讨论了自噬在癌症中相反的肿瘤抑制和致癌作用，以及利用自噬调节剂或与抗癌药物联合治疗的潜在临床疗法。
