Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 8, 2025

Assessing Autophagic Flux by Measuring LC3, p62, and LAMP1 Co-localization Using Multispectral Imaging Flow Cytometry
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Published on: July 21, 2017

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A Balance Between Autophagy and Other Cell Death Modalities in Cancer

Anna S Gorbunova1, Gelina S Kopeina1, Boris Zhivotovsky2,3

  • 1Faculty of Basic Medicine, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|January 1, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Autophagy, a cellular process, plays a dual role in disease, impacting cancer progression and treatment resistance. Understanding its mechanisms is key to developing new cancer therapies.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Oncology
  • Pathogenesis

Background:

  • Autophagy is an intracellular degradation process for damaged components and pathogens.
  • Initially viewed as a survival mechanism, autophagy also exhibits prodeath functions.
  • Dysfunctional autophagy contributes to disease development and cancer treatment resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the role of autophagy in disease pathogenesis, especially cancer.
  • To explore the interplay between autophagy and other cell death pathways.
  • To highlight therapeutic strategies targeting autophagy in cancer.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of autophagy research.
  • Analysis of molecular pathways involved in autophagy.
  • Examination of autophagy's role in cancer cell resistance.

Main Results:

  • Autophagy is implicated in various diseases and cancer progression.
  • Disruptions in autophagy are linked to cancer cell resistance to therapy.
  • Autophagy interacts with other cell death mechanisms.

Conclusions:

  • Autophagy is a critical factor in disease and cancer.
  • Targeting autophagy offers potential for novel cancer treatments.
  • Further research into autophagy and cell death interplay is crucial for therapeutic development.
Keywords:
ApoptosisAutophagyAutophagy-dependent cell deathCancerNecroptosis

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