title: Apoptotic and autophagic pathways with relevant small-molecule compounds, in cancer stem cells.
abstract: Accumulating evidence demonstrates existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are suspected of contributing to cancer cell self-renewal capacity and resistance to radiation and/or chemotherapy. Including evasion of apoptosis and autophagic cell death, CSCs have revealed abilities to resist cell death, making them appealing targets for cancer therapy. Recently, molecular mechanisms of apoptosis and of autophagy in CSCs have been gradually explored, comparing them in stem cells and in cancer cells; distinct expression of these systems in CSCs may elucidate how these cells exert their capacity of unlimited self-renewal and hierarchical differentiation. Due to their proposed ability to drive tumour initiation and progression, CSCs may be considered to be potentially useful pharmacological targets. Further, multiple compounds have been verified as triggering apoptosis and/or autophagy, suppressing tumour growth, thus providing new strategies for cancer therapy. In this review, we summarized regulation of apoptosis and autophagy in CSCs to elucidate how key proteins participate in control of survival and death; in addition, currently well-studied compounds that target CSC apoptosis and autophagy are selectively presented. With increasing attention to CSCs in cancer therapy, researchers are now trying to find responses to unsolved questions as unambiguous as possible, which may provide novel insight into future anti-cancer regimes.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy/Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.|School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, 110016, China.
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy/Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.|School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, China.
authors.forename: Xupeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy/Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy/Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy/Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Xinyue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, 110016, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, 110016, China.
authors.forename: Jinhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy/Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001343:Autophagy / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents