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Functions of autophagy in the tumor microenvironment and cancer metastasis
Author(s) -
Mowers Erin E.,
Sharifi Mari.,
Macleod Kay F.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the febs journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.981
H-Index - 204
eISSN - 1742-4658
pISSN - 1742-464X
DOI - 10.1111/febs.14388
Subject(s) - autophagy , tumor microenvironment , biology , cancer cell , microbiology and biotechnology , metastasis , organelle , cancer research , cancer , tumor cells , biochemistry , apoptosis , genetics
Macro‐autophagy is an ancient and highly conserved self‐degradative process that plays a homeostatic role in normal cells by eliminating organelles, pathogens, and protein aggregates. Autophagy, as it is routinely referred to, also allows cells to maintain metabolic sufficiency and survive under conditions of nutrient stress by recycling the by‐products of autophagic degradation, such as fatty acids, amino acids, and nucleotides. Tumor cells are more reliant than normal cells on autophagy for survival in part due to their rapid growth rate, altered metabolism, and nutrient‐deprived growth environment. How this dependence of tumor cells on autophagy affects their progression to malignancy and metastatic disease is an area of increasing research focus. Here, we review recent work identifying critical functions for autophagy in tumor cell migration and invasion, tumor stem cell maintenance and therapy resistance, and cross‐talk between tumor cells and their microenvironment.