title: Unravelling the multifaceted roles of Atg proteins to improve cancer therapy.
abstract: Autophagy follows a lysosomal degradation pathway in which a cell digests its own components. It is highly regulated by a limited number of autophagy-related genes (Atg) and the proteins they encode, that are crucial for cells to undergo the process via modulating autophagsome formation. Recently, accumulating evidence has revealed the core molecular machinery of autophagy; however, intricate relationships between autophagy and cancer remain an enigma. Several studies have shown that Atgs can play an important role in carcinogenesis, by which Atgs may modulate a series of oncogenic and tumour suppressive pathways, implicating microRNA (miRNA) involvement. In this review, we will present the key role of Atgs in deciding the fate of cancer cells, discuss some representative Atgs and their proteins such as ULK, Beclin-1, and Atg8/LC3-Atg4, which can also be regulated by miRNAs. Thus, Atgs can be considered to be targets for cancer treatment, which may illuminate the future of cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: X-R
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Y-Q
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: C-J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: F-T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: H-Q
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: X-T
authors.initials: XT
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D001343:Autophagy / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D000071190:Autophagy-Related Protein 8 Family; D000071189:Autophagy-Related Protein-1 Homolog; D000071186:Beclin-1; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D000071190:Autophagy-Related Protein 8 Family; C491997:BECN1 protein, human; D000071186:Beclin-1; C498698:GABARAPL2 protein, human; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm; D000071189:Autophagy-Related Protein-1 Homolog; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C484754:ULK1 protein, human; C541703:Ulk2 protein, human