Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Quantitative Analysis of Autophagy using Advanced 3D Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: May 3, 2013
Enhancement of autophagy is a potential modality for tumors refractory to radiotherapy
Y Kuwahara1, T Oikawa, Y Ochiai
1Department of Pathology, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Abstract:
Radiotherapy is a well-established treatment for cancer. However, the existence of radioresistant cells is one of the major obstacles in radiotherapy. In order to understand the mechanism of cellular radioresistance and develop more effective radiotherapy, we have established clinically relevant radioresistant (CRR) cell lines, which continue to proliferate under daily exposure to 2 Gray (Gy) of X-rays for >30 days. X-ray irradiation significantly induced autophagic cells in parental cells, which was exiguous in CRR cells, suggesting that autophagic cell death is involved in cellular radiosensitivity. An autophagy inducer, rapamycin sensitized CRR cells to the level of parental cells and suppressed cell growth. An autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyladenine induced radioresistance of parental cells. Furthermore, inhibition of autophagy by knockdown of Beclin-1 made parental cells radioresistant to acute radiation. These suggest that the suppression of autophagic cell death but not apoptosis is mainly involved in cellular radioresistance. Therefore, the enhancement of autophagy may have a considerable impact on the treatment of radioresistant tumor.
More Related Videos
19:44Enhancement of Apoptotic and Autophagic Induction by a Novel Synthetic C-1 Analogue of 7-deoxypancratistatin in Human Breast Adenocarcinoma and Neuroblastoma Cells with Tamoxifen
Published on: May 30, 2012
07:20Exploring the Regulation of Lipid Droplet Catabolism through Lipophagy
Published on: January 31, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Tumor Immunotherapy
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
Autophagy
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...