Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2025
09:59
Quantitative Analysis of Autophagy using Advanced 3D Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: May 3, 2013
17.9K
Autophagy and cancer therapy.
Julio M Pimentel1, Jun Ying Zhou2, Gen Sheng Wu3
1Department of Pharmacology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA; Institutional Research Academic Career Development Award Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
Cancer Letters
|October 12, 2024
Summary
Autophagy, a cellular recycling process, plays a dual role in cancer, potentially promoting or inhibiting tumor growth. Understanding autophagy regulation is key to improving cancer therapies and immunotherapy.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Oncology
Background:
- Autophagy is a fundamental cellular process for degrading damaged components via autophagosomes and lysosomes.
- This pathway is crucial for cellular homeostasis, energy production, and nutrient supply, especially during stress.
- Dysregulated autophagy is linked to genomic instability, DNA damage, and cancer development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the regulation of autophagy.
- To explore the multifaceted role of autophagy in cancer.
- To discuss the implications of autophagy in cancer therapy and drug resistance.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent findings on autophagy.
- Analysis of autophagy's role in cancer initiation, progression, and treatment.
Main Results:
- Autophagy can be both tumor-suppressive and tumor-promoting.
- Overactivated autophagy aids cancer cell survival and drug resistance.
- Autophagy influences tumor immunity and the tumor microenvironment.
Conclusions:
- Autophagy manipulation holds promise for enhancing cancer therapies, including immunotherapy.
- Further research into autophagy's complex roles in cancer is warranted.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Autophagy
4.2K
Autophagy is a self-digesting process by which a cell protects itself from threats both within and outside the cell, ranging from abnormal proteins to invading bacteria. In this process, obsolete components of the cell and invading microbes are degraded by hydrolytic enzymes active in an acidic environment of the lysosomal lumen.
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
4.2K
01:36Delivery Pathways to the Lysosome
6.2K
Eukaryotic cells use different mechanisms to eliminate toxic waste obsolete and worn-out substances. Lysosomes play a pivotal role in this, and hence, these substances are carried to the lysosome from other parts of the cell and extracellular space through different pathways. The most elaborately studied pathways to the lysosome are the endocytic pathways.
Endocytosis
In endocytosis, the cell membrane takes up macromolecules and particles from the surrounding medium. Clathrin-mediated...
Endocytosis
In endocytosis, the cell membrane takes up macromolecules and particles from the surrounding medium. Clathrin-mediated...
6.2K
01:18Autophagic Cell Death
3.4K
Christian de Duve discovered “autophagy,” a process in which cellular components are engulfed by membrane-bound organelles called autophagosomes. The autophagosomes then fuse with lysosomes to digest the enclosed contents. Autophagy is generally activated in cells to prevent cell death. However, cell death is triggered when the damage is beyond repair.
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and...
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and...
3.4K
02:57Targeted Cancer Therapies
7.5K
The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
7.5K
02:49Cancer Therapies
7.6K
Cancer therapies are various modes of treatment, such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy that are administered to cancer patients.
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
7.6K
03:03mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
3.8K
The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
The mTOR pathway or the...
3.8K