Copper - a novel stimulator of autophagy

Toxic copper accumulation causes Wilson disease, but trace amounts of copper are required for cellular and organismal survival. In a recent paper Tsang (Nat Cell Biol, doi: 10.1038/s41556-020-0481-4) demonstrate that copper binds with high affinity to a designated interaction site in the pro-autopha...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell Stress 2020-04, Vol.4 (5), p.92-94
Main Authors: Zischka, Hans, Kroemer, Guido
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
and Thoughts
Autophagy
Cancer
Copper
mek1
ulk1
ulk2
Wilson Disease
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Toxic copper accumulation causes Wilson disease, but trace amounts of copper are required for cellular and organismal survival. In a recent paper Tsang (Nat Cell Biol, doi: 10.1038/s41556-020-0481-4) demonstrate that copper binds with high affinity to a designated interaction site in the pro-autophagic kinases ULK1 and ULK2. Chelation of copper or genetic deletion of this copper-binding site inhibits autophagy and hence reduces the fitness of KRAS-induced cancers. These findings suggest that copper chelation might constitute a novel therapeutic intervention on autophagy-dependent malignancies.
ISSN:2523-0204
2523-0204
DOI:10.15698/cst2020.05.218