Cancer and Autophagy

1. Cancer and Autophagy In 1992, Ashford and Porter observed in human liver cells that the cytoplasm, organelles and proteins that need to be degraded are encapsulated by a bilayer membrane to form autophagosomes, which fuse with lysosomes to form autophagosomes and degrade them. This phenomenon is called autophagy. Autophagy is widely present in eukaryotic cells and is a self-protective mechanism of cells. Under normal conditions, the level of autophagy in the cells is low, and the level of autophagy in the cells is rapidly increased under stress conditions. This is beneficial to maintaining the metabolic balance of the protein and alleviating the metabolic pressure, thereby maintaining environment. the stability of the intracellular The autophagy process is mainly made up of four stages: initiation and extension of autophagic membranes, maturation and degradation of autophagosomes. First, autophagosome-associated proteins recognize parts of cytoplasm, organelles, proteins, and other molecules. Next, the cell membrane of part of the rough endoplasmic reticulum that has not been detached from the ribosome attachment region begins to form an autophagic membrane, also called a barrier membrane. The autophagic membrane gradually extends to encapsulate the components to be degraded to form a closed spherical Autophagosomes fuse with lysosomes to form autolysosome, which lead to degradation of the membrane and contents of the autophagy, thereby providing energy for intracellular chemical reactions. According to previous studies, researchers have shown that autophagy is closely related to cancer. vesicle, called an autophagosome.