Autophagy and EMT in cancer and metastasis: Who controls whom?

Rohit Gundamaraju; Wenying Lu; Manash K Paul; Niraj Kumar Jha; Piyush Kumar Gupta; Shreesh Ojha; Indranil Chattopadhyay; Pasupuleti Visweswara Rao; Saeid Ghavami

doi:10.1016/j.bbadis.2022.166431

Autophagy and EMT in cancer and metastasis: Who controls whom?

Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2022 Sep 1;1868(9):166431. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2022.166431. Epub 2022 May 6.

Authors

Rohit Gundamaraju¹, Wenying Lu², Manash K Paul³, Niraj Kumar Jha⁴, Piyush Kumar Gupta⁵, Shreesh Ojha⁶, Indranil Chattopadhyay⁷, Pasupuleti Visweswara Rao⁸, Saeid Ghavami⁹

Affiliations

¹ ER stress and Mucosal Immunology lab, School of Health Sciences, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania 7248, Australia; Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA. Electronic address: rohit.gundamaraju@utas.edu.au.
² Respiratory Translational Research Group, Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania 7248, Australia.
³ Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Electronic address: manashp@ucla.edu.
⁴ Department of Biotechnology, School of Engineering and Technology, Sharda University, Greater Noida 201310, UP, India; Department of Biotechnology, School of Applied and Life Sciences (SALS), Uttaranchal University, Dehradun 248007, India.
⁵ Department of Life Sciences, School of Basic Sciences and Research, Sharda University, Greater Noida 201310, Uttar Pradesh, India.
⁶ Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain 17666, United Arab Emirates.
⁷ Department of Life Sciences, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁸ Department of Biomedical Sciences and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Sabah, Malaysia; Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Abdurrab University, Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia; Center for international relations and collaborations, Reva University, Rukmini knowledge Park, Kattigenahalli Yelahanka, Bangalore, Karnataka 560064, India.
⁹ Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada; Research Institutes of Oncology and Hematology, Cancer Care Manitoba-University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0V9, Canada; Autophagy Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 7134845794, Iran; Faculty of Medicine, Katowice School of Technology, 40-555 Katowice, Poland.

PMID: 35533903
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2022.166431

Abstract

Metastasis consists of hallmark events, including Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), angiogenesis, initiation of inflammatory tumor microenvironment, and malfunctions in apoptosis. Autophagy is known to play a pivotal role in the metastatic process. Autophagy has pulled researchers towards it in recent times because of its dual role in the maintenance of cancer cells. Evidence states that cells undergoing EMT need autophagy in order to survive during migration and dissemination. Additionally, it orchestrates EMT markers in certain cancers. On the other side of the coin, autophagy plays an oncosuppressive role in impeding early metastasis. This review aims to project the interrelationship between autophagy and EMT. Targeting EMT via autophagy as a useful strategy is discussed in this review. Furthermore, for the first time, we have covered the possible reciprocating roles of EMT and autophagy and its consequences in cancer metastasis.

Keywords: Autophagy; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT); Metastasis; Starvation; Tumor signalling pathways.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Apoptosis
Autophagy
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition*
Humans
Neoplasms* / pathology
Tumor Microenvironment