Differential mechanisms of autophagy in cancer stem cells: Emphasizing gastrointestinal cancers

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are one of the most common forms of malignancies and still are the most important cause of cancer‐related mortality worldwide. Autophagy is a conserved catabolic pathway involving lysosomal degradation and recycling of whole cellular components, which is essential for c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell biochemistry and function 2021-03, Vol.39 (2), p.162-173
Main Authors: El‐Gowily, Afnan H., Abosheasha, Mohammed A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autophagy
Cancer
Cell differentiation
Cell self-renewal
Differentiation (biology)
Embryo cells
gastrointestinal cancer
Homeostasis
Lysosomes
Metastases
Molecular modelling
Phagocytosis
Quality control
Stem cells
Tumors
tumour microenvironment
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Summary:Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are one of the most common forms of malignancies and still are the most important cause of cancer‐related mortality worldwide. Autophagy is a conserved catabolic pathway involving lysosomal degradation and recycling of whole cellular components, which is essential for cellular homeostasis. For instance, it acts as a pivotal intracellular quality control and repair mechanism but also implicated in cell reformation during cell differentiation and development. Indeed, GI cancer stem cells (CSCs) are thought to be responsible for tumour initiation, traditional therapies resistance, metastasis and tumour recurrence. Molecular mechanisms of autophagy in normal vs CSCs gain great interest worldwide. Here, we shed light on the role of autophagy in normal stem cells differentiation for embryonic progression and its role in maintaining the activity and self‐renewal capacity of CSCs which offer novel viewpoints on promising cancer therapeutic strategies based on the differential roles of autophagy in CSCs.
ISSN:0263-6484
1099-0844
DOI:10.1002/cbf.3552