title: Chemotherapy and autophagy-mediated cell death in pancreatic cancer cells.
abstract: Autophagy is an evolutionarily preserved degradation process of cytoplasmic cellular constituents and plays important physiological roles in human health and disease. It has been proposed that autophagy plays an important role both in tumor progression and in promotion of cancer cell death, although the molecular mechanisms responsible for this dual action of autophagy in cancer have not been elucidated. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is one of the most aggressive human malignancies with 2-3% five-year survival rate. Its poor prognosis has been attributed to the lack of specific symptoms and early detection tools, and its relatively refractory to traditional cytotoxic agents and radiotherapy. Experimental evidence pointed at autophagy as a pancreatic cancer cell mechanism to survive under adverse environmental conditions, or as a defective programmed cell death mechanism that favors pancreatic cancer cell resistance to treatment. Here, we consider several phenotypical alterations that have been related to increase or decrease the autophagic process in pancreatic tumor cells. We specially review autophagy as a cell death mechanism in response to chemotherapeutic drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires, 956 Junin p5, C1113AAD Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ropolo
authors.forename: Claudia I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Bagnes
authors.forename: Maria I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Molejon
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lo Re
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Boggio
authors.forename: Claudio D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Maria I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Vaccaro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy / Q000187:drug effects; D000069287:Capecitabine; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D000067759:Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000502:physiology; D000093542:Gemcitabine
chemical_list: D000067759:Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D000069287:Capecitabine; D005472:Fluorouracil; D000093542:Gemcitabine