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Autophagy in cancer stem/progenitor cells

Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology volume 75, pages 879–886 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Macroautophagy is widely accepted as a cytoprotective mechanism against various environmental stresses. While inhibition of autophagy is generally considered to increase the susceptibility of cancer cells to therapeutic agents, whether it also plays a similar role in tumor stem cells is unclear and still controversial. With increased attention and efforts focused on the cytoprotective feature of autophagy in cancer, it is also essential to understand its role in the biology of cancer stem cells, including self-renewal, differentiation, and tumorigenicity. Although there are very few studies that evaluate autophagy in cancer stem/progenitor cells, understanding the mechanisms governing autophagic responses in various cancer stem cells could provide support for the future development of clinical therapeutics. The present review summarizes current studies that assess the role of autophagy in various types of cancer stem cells and those that evaluate the application of inhibitors of key components within the autophagy pathway in cancer stem/progenitor cells.

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Abbreviations

3-MA:

3-Methyladenine

ALL:

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

BFA:

Bafilomycin A1

CSC:

Cancer stem cell

CML:

Chronic myeloid leukemia

CXCR4:

C-X-C chemokine receptor 4

DNA-PKcs:

DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit

DNMT1:

DNA methyltransferase 1

FIP200:

Focal adhesion kinase family interacting protein of 200 kD

GBM:

Glioblastoma multiform

HSC:

Hematopoietic stem cell

IM:

Imatinib mesylate

Jak2:

Janus activated kinase 2

mTOR:

Mammalian target of rapamycin

PDAC:

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Ph+ :

Philadelphia chromosome-positive

TKI:

Tyrosine-kinase inhibitor

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Grant NSC99-2314-B-010-041-MY3 and NSC100-2314-B-075-065-MY3 from the National Science Council, grant V100C-117, V101C-101, and V102C-138 from Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and Grant CMU101-N2-02 from China Medical University.

Conflict of interest

None.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC

    Yi-Hui Lin

  2. Department of Public Health, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC

    Yu-Chun Huang

  3. Department of Medical Research and Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shih-Pai Road, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

    Li-Hsin Chen

  4. Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, China Medical University, No. 91, Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan, ROC

    Pei-Ming Chu

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  1. Yi-Hui Lin
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  2. Yu-Chun Huang
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Correspondence to Li-Hsin Chen or Pei-Ming Chu.

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Yi-Hui Lin and Yu-Chun Huang have contributed equally to this manuscript.

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Lin, YH., Huang, YC., Chen, LH. et al. Autophagy in cancer stem/progenitor cells. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 75, 879–886 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-014-2634-2

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Keywords

  • Cancer stem cells
  • Autophagy
  • Apoptosis
  • Cancer therapy