The Importance of Autophagy in Breast Cancer Development and Treatment
Abstract
Autophagy is a highly conserved process by which cytoplasm and organelles are digested via autophagosomes and autolysosomes and cellular components are recycled for energy utilization 1, 2. During starvation or growth factor deficiency, autophagy may serve as a temporary survival mechanism by providing an alternative energy source. Autophagy can also optimize nutrient utilization in rapidly growing cells when faced with hypoxic or metabolic stresses, thus contributing to cancer cell survival 3-5. Elongation factor-2 (eEF-2) kinase, a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase, acts as a negative regulator of protein synthesis: this kinase phosphorylates eEF-2, a 100 kDa protein that mediates the translocation step in peptidechain elongation by inducing the transfer of peptidyl-tRNA from the ribosomal A to P site; phosphorylation of eEF-2 at Thr56 by eEF-2 kinase decreases the affinity of the elongation factor for ribosome and terminates elongation 6. Our previous studies demonstrated that eEF-2 kinase might be a central component of the mammalian macroautophagy pathway that is activated in response to nutrient deprivation 7, 8.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA542209
Entities
People
- Jin-ming Yang
Organizations
- Penn State College of Medicine