title: Anti-autophagic Bcl-2: Not just an innocent bystander.
abstract: Bcl-2, originally identified as a universal inhibitor of apoptotic cell death, has since been implicated in suppressing autophagy, the cell's quality control mechanism. Our recent study demonstrates that the anti-autophagic aspect of Bcl-2 can function as a promoter of oncogenic growth, independently of its role in apoptosis signaling. It is likely that the increase in Bcl-2 often seen in breast and other cancers might render cells error-prone by blunting autophagy, while concomitantly keeping damaged cells alive. The outcome of such a 'double hit' of Bcl-2 may synergistically promote tumor growth and increase the chance of cancer development and drug resistance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Soohwan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Sara Dolatshahi
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Pirooz
authors.forename: Duojiao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Chengyu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D001343:Autophagy; D002470:Cell Survival; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D006801:Humans; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2