Nowadays, heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), a highly conserved molecular chaperone, has become the target of antitumor drugs as a result of its close relationship with the occurrence and development, biological behavior, and prognosis of a tumor. Autophagy has attracted big attention recently for its paradoxical roles in cell survival and cell death, especially in the pathogenesis and treatment of cancer. Moreover, it has been verified that Hsp90 plays a role in autophagy via regulating the stability and activity of signaling proteins, and some Hsp90 inhibitors can induce autophagy. However, the underlying mechanisms for these important processes have not been clarified so far. In this study, we focus on the roles of Hsp90 in the regulation of autophagy, such as toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated autophagy, Ulk1-mediated mitophagy, and chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA). The roles of Hsp90 inhibitors in cancer therapy will also be elucidated.
Keywords: Autophagy; CMA; Hsp90; Hsp90 inhibition; Mitophagy.