title: Targeting autophagy in cancer stem cells as an anticancer therapy.
abstract: Cancer stem cells (CSCs), which comprise a small proportion of total cancer cells, have special capacities for self-renewal, differentiation and tumor formation. Currently, CSCs are regarded as the major cause of the failure in anticancer therapy, such as chemoresistance and/or radioresistance, tumor recurrence and metastasis. Autophagy, a process of cellular self-digestion and response to stress, has a role in tumor formation and progression, and it may play a dual role in CSCs-related resistance to anticancer therapy. Most researchers believe that autophagy contributes to stemness maintenance of CSCs and is responsible for the failure of anticancer therapy. Unexpectedly, several studies have also suggested that loss of stemness in CSCs could be mediated by autophagy. Here, we review the recent advances in CSCs and autophagy, especially analyze the complex relationship between them, and hope to apply this new knowledge to the strategies for anticancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China. Electronic address: zhangjianwei_008@126.com.
authors.forename: Jianwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, China. Electronic address: shimingyang@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Shiming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001343:Autophagy / Q000187:drug effects*; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010641:Phenotype; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: Anticancer therapy; Autophagy; Cancer stem cells; Chemoresistance; Stemness