Autophagy: An overview and its roles in cancer and obesity.
Autophagy is a normal physiological process necessary for cellular homeostasis to maintain adequate levels of cellular components. It is essential to stabilize the source of energy during development and nutritional stress and plays the dual role of survival or cell killing in various diseases including cancer. The selectivity of the response to removal of selected organelles may vary according to the each type. Macroautophagy forms a double-membraned autophagosome around the organelle destined for processing. Microautophagy involves direct engulfment of the cellular components by lysosomal invagination. Chaperone mediated autophagy (CMA) is highly selective and is dependent on the chaperone hsc70 for its activity. The effects of all these types are implemented by autophagy related genes. In this review, the markers, activators, inhibitors biological effects and roles of the three classes of autophagy in cancer and obesity are discussed.
Department of Hematology and Oncology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Joe Antony
JA
Jacob
Department of Hematology and Oncology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Jumah Masoud Mohammad
JMM
Salmani
Department of Hematology and Oncology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China; Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Ziyu
Z
Jiang
Key Laboratory of New Drug Delivery System of Chinese Materia Medica, Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Liang
L
Feng
Key Laboratory of New Drug Delivery System of Chinese Materia Medica, Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Jie
J
Song
Key Laboratory of New Drug Delivery System of Chinese Materia Medica, Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Xiaobin
X
Jia
Department of Hematology and Oncology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: cba8888@hotmail.com.
Baoan
B
Chen
D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*
CMA; Cell killing; Cell survival; Macroautophagy; Microautophagy