The pleiotropic functions of autophagy in metastasis
Abstract
Autophagy is deregulated in many cancers and represents an attractive target for therapeutic intervention. However, the precise contributions of autophagy to metastatic progression, the principle cause of cancer-related mortality, is only now being uncovered. While autophagy promotes primary tumor growth, metabolic adaptation and resistance to therapy, recent studies have unexpectedly revealed that autophagy suppresses the proliferative outgrowth of disseminated tumor cells into overt and lethal macrometastases. These studies suggest autophagy plays unexpected and complex roles in the initiation and progression of metastases, which will undoubtedly impact therapeutic approaches for cancer treatment. Here, we discuss the intricacies of autophagy in metastatic progression, highlighting and integrating the pleiotropic roles of autophagy on diverse cell biological processes involved in metastasis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 15, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1242/jcs.247056
Entities
People
- Bhairavi Tolani
- Jayanta Debnath
- Timothy Marsh
Organizations
- National Cancer Institute
- Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation
- The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research
- United States Department of Defense
- University of California, San Francisco