Mitophagy in Pancreatic Cancer

Yangchun Xie, Jiao Liu, Rui Kang, Daolin Tang

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), one of the most aggressive solid malignancies, is characterized by the presence of oncogenic KRAS mutations, poor response to current therapies, prone to metastasis, and a low 5-year overall survival rate. Macroautophagy (herein referred to as autophagy) is a lysosome-dependent degradation system that forms a series of dynamic membrane structures to engulf, degrade, and recycle various cargoes, such as unused proteins, damaged organelles, and invading pathogens. Autophagy is usually upregulated in established cancers, but it plays a dual role in the regulation of the initiation and progression of PDAC. As a type of selective autophagy, mitophagy is a mitochondrial quality control mechanism that uses ubiquitin-dependent (e.g., the PINK1-PRKN pathway) and -independent (e.g., BNIP3L/NIX, FUNDC1, and BNIP3) pathways to regulate mitochondrial turnover and participate in the modulation of metabolism and cell death. Genetically engineered mouse models indicate that the loss of PINK1 or PRKN promotes, whereas the depletion of BNIP3L inhibits oncogenic KRAS-driven pancreatic tumorigenesis. Mitophagy also play a dual role in the regulation of the anticancer activity of certain cytotoxic agents (e.g., rocaglamide A, dichloroacetate, fisetin, and P. suffruticosa extracts) in PDAC cells or xenograft models. In this min-review, we summarize the latest advances in understanding the complex role of mitophagy in the occurrence and treatment of PDAC.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number616079
JournalFrontiers in Oncology
Volume11
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 26 2021

Keywords

  • PDAC - pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
  • autophagy
  • mitophagy
  • therapy
  • tumorigenesis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Mitophagy in Pancreatic Cancer'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this