Autophagy knocked down by high-risk HPV infection and uterine cervical carcinogenesis

Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer death among women in the world. The specific etiopathogenesis of cervical cancer is indeed complex. Even so, we should make arduous efforts to have a precise understanding of the complicate cellular/molecular mechanisms underlying initiation, progression and/or prevention of the cervical cancer. The high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) is considered as the major causative agent of cervical cancer. But with the existence of hrHPV only is not sufficient, autophagy plays a vital character in the development of cervical cancer. Autophagy is the endogenous, tightly regulated cellular "housekeeping" process responsible for the degradation of damaged and dysfunctional cellular organelles and protein aggregates. Our aims in this review were (1) to provide a brief synopsis of process of autophagy (including an overview of the key molecular mediators of this catabolic process and its relationship with hrHPV infection) and (2) most importantly, summarize the current evidence for autophagy-mediated cervical carcinogenesis. One of the latest opinions about the etiopathogenesis is that hrHPV leads to the occurrence of cervical cancer via inhibiting the host's autophagy. The infection of hrHPV will cause the autophagy of cancerous cells, resulting in autophagic cell death, which will suppress the further infection of HPV in return. But the autophagy would be knocked down by the hrHPV, which means the protecting action would end with failure. What's worse, the negative denouement will enhance the infectivity of HPV ultimately, which leads to accelerate cervical carcinogenesis.