AMPK-mTOR-Mediated Activation of Autophagy Promotes Formation of Dormant Polyploid Giant Cancer Cells.

ABSTRACT: Dormant cancer cells that survive anticancer therapy can lead to cancer recurrence and disseminated metastases that prove fatal in most cases. Recently, specific dormant polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCC) have drawn our attention because of their association with the clinical risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) recurrence, as demonstrated by previous clinical data. In this study, we report the biological properties of PGCC, including mitochondrial alterations, and reveal that autophagy is a critical mechanism of PGCC induction. Moreover, pharmacologic or genetic inhibition of autophagy greatly impaired PGCC formation, significantly suppressing metastasis and improving survival in a mouse model. Mechanistically, chemotherapeutic drugs partly damaged mitochondria, which then produced low

SUBMITTER: You B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9359740 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature