The Role of Autophagy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

• Published in: International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2015-11, Vol.16 (11), p.26629-26643
• Main Authors: Lee, Yoo Jin, Jang, Byoung Kuk
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AMP-Activated Protein Kinases - genetics; AMP-Activated Protein Kinases - metabolism; Animals; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins - genetics; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins - metabolism; Autophagy; Autophagy - genetics; Autophagy-Related Protein-1 Homolog; Beclin-1; Biomarkers, Tumor - genetics; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Cancer; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - diagnosis; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - genetics; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - metabolism; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic - genetics; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic - metabolism; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic - pathology; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; hepatocellular carcinoma; Hepatology; Humans; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins - genetics; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins - metabolism; Liver Neoplasms - diagnosis; Liver Neoplasms - genetics; Liver Neoplasms - metabolism; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1; Mice; Multiprotein Complexes - genetics; Multiprotein Complexes - metabolism; Prognosis; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - genetics; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism; Review; Signal Transduction; therapy; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases - genetics; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism; tumor suppression; tumorigenesis
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms161125984

Autophagy is a catabolic process involved in cellular homeostasis under basal and stressed conditions. Autophagy is crucial for normal liver physiology and the pathogenesis of liver diseases. During the last decade, the function of autophagy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been evaluated extensively. Currently, autophagy is thought to play a dual role in HCC, i.e., autophagy is involved in tumorigenesis and tumor suppression. Recent investigations of autophagy have suggested that autophagy biomarkers can facilitate HCC prognosis and the establishment of therapeutic approaches. In this review, we briefly summarize the current understanding of autophagy and discuss recent evidence for its role in HCC.