To live or let die: Unclear task of autophagy in the radiosensitization battle
Language English Country Ireland Media print-electronic
Document type Journal Article, Review
PubMed
26993419
DOI
10.1016/j.radonc.2016.02.028
PII: S0167-8140(16)00116-X
Knihovny.cz E-resources
- Keywords
- Autophagy, Induction, Inhibition, Ionizing radiation, Radiosensitization, Radiotherapy,
- MeSH
- Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins physiology MeSH
- Autophagy radiation effects MeSH
- Chloroquine pharmacology MeSH
- Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases physiology MeSH
- Cell Hypoxia MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Membrane Proteins physiology MeSH
- Neoplasms radiotherapy MeSH
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins physiology MeSH
- Radiation Tolerance * MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Review MeSH
- Names of Substances
- ATM protein, human MeSH Browser
- Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins MeSH
- BNIP3 protein, human MeSH Browser
- Chloroquine MeSH
- Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases MeSH
- Membrane Proteins MeSH
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins MeSH
Radiation-induced autophagy is believed to represent a radioprotective mechanism of cancer cells. Thus, its inhibition should support radiation treatment and increase its efficacy. On the other hand, there is evidence that radiation alone or in combination with various chemical agents can induce autophagy that results into increased cell death, especially within transformed apoptosis-resistant cells. In this paper, besides description of autophagic process and its relation to cancer and radiotherapy, we compared two contradictory radiosensitization approaches that employ inhibition and induction of autophagy. In spite of the classical concept based on cytoprotective model, there is a plethora of recently developed inducers of autophagy, which indicates the future trend in radiosensitization via modulation of autophagy. Because contemporary literature is conflicting and inconsistent in this respect, we reviewed the recent studies focused on enhancement of sensitivity of cancer cells toward radiation in regard to autophagy, revealing some striking discrepancies. The deeper the knowledge, the more complex this situation is. To interpret results of various studies correctly one has to take into account the methodology of autophagy assessment and also the fact that radiosensitization might be mediated by other than intrinsic mechanisms related to autophagy. Notwithstanding, targeting autophagy remains an attractive anti-tumor strategy.
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