Unveiling the Paradoxical Nature of Autophagy in Cancer Cell Fate
Jannatul Shifa, Tasbir Amin, Md. Fakruddin, Kazi Atikur Rahman, S M Bakhtiar Ul Islam
Abstract
Autophagy is an ancient conserved and catabolic process required to maintain cellular homeostasis through sequestration and lysosomal degradation of cytosolic dysfunctional contents. The bulk degradation of cytosolic material through autophagy provides the necessary nutrients that cells utilize under starvation. Autophagy can play a mixed role in both the growth and survival of cancer cells. As a damaged cellular content-clearing mechanism, autophagy is involved in the early stage of tumor regression. Subsequently, in a mature tumor cell microenvironment, autophagy protects tumor cells from cellular stress, immune evasion, and therapeutic resistance. Therapeutic resistance mediated by autophagic regulators can make anticancer therapy less effective. This review discusses the molecular mechanism of mammalian autophagy, evaluates the dynamic role of autophagy in cancer, highlights autophagy-mediated therapeutic resistance, and suggests the use of biomarkers. In cancer therapy, the addition of biomarkers can provide specific identification, and the conjugation of biomarkers with chemo-drugs can reduce the side effects and ensure normal cell integrity.