Role of Autophagy and Apoptosis in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 18; no. 2; p. 367
• Main Authors: Liu, Guangbo, Pei, Fen, Yang, Fengqing, Li, Lingxiao, Amin, Amit Dipak, Liu, Songnian, Buchan, J Ross, Cho, William C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 10-02-2017; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Apoptosis - genetics; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins - metabolism; Autophagy; Autophagy - drug effects; Autophagy - genetics; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - genetics; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - metabolism; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - therapy; Cell Communication; Cellular stress response; crosstalk; endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress - drug effects; Energy Metabolism; Genetic Variation; Humans; Immunotherapy; Lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - genetics; Lung Neoplasms - metabolism; Lung Neoplasms - therapy; mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR); MAP Kinase Signaling System; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Non-small cell lung carcinoma; non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); p53; Pharmaceutical industry; Protein Binding; Review; Risk Factors; Signal Transduction; Stress, Physiological; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism; autophagy; crosstalk; mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR); apoptosis; endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress; non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); p53
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms18020367

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) constitutes 85% of all lung cancers, and is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The poor prognosis and resistance to both radiation and chemotherapy warrant further investigation into the molecular mechanisms of NSCLC and the development of new, more efficacious therapeutics. The processes of autophagy and apoptosis, which induce degradation of proteins and organelles or cell death upon cellular stress, are crucial in the pathophysiology of NSCLC. The close interplay between autophagy and apoptosis through shared signaling pathways complicates our understanding of how NSCLC pathophysiology is regulated. The apoptotic effect of autophagy is controversial as both inhibitory and stimulatory effects have been reported in NSCLC. In addition, crosstalk of proteins regulating both autophagy and apoptosis exists. Here, we review the recent advances of the relationship between autophagy and apoptosis in NSCLC, aiming to provide few insights into the discovery of novel pathogenic factors and the development of new cancer therapeutics.