MGCG regulates glioblastoma tumorigenicity via hnRNPK/ATG2A and promotes autophagy

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K is a potential target for enhancing the chemosensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

The resistance of tumor cells to chemotherapy drugs is a critical determinant in the recurrence and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Therefore, it is crucial to identify effective biotargets that can enhance the sensitivity of NPC cells to chemotherapy drugs. Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNPK) plays a central role in regulating chemotherapy resistance across various tumor types. However, its specific function in NPC cells remains unclear. This study reveals that hnRNPK is overexpressed in NPC tissues while weakly expressed in normal nasopharyngeal tissues. The expression level of hnRNPK is negatively associated with NPC patient survival. Importantly, hnRNPK is a key inducer of chemotherapy resistance in NPC, as evidenced by the significant increase in NPC cell sensitivity to cisplatin following hnRNPK knockdown. Mechanistically, hnRNPK induces chemotherapy resistance in NPC cells by suppressing the activation of the Akt/caspase 3 pathway. In NPC tumor-bearing mice, hnRNPK knockdown enhances the efficacy of cisplatin chemotherapy. Consequently, this work identifies a potential target for enhancing the sensitivity of NPC cells to chemotherapy.

Regulation of autophagy by non-coding RNAs in human glioblastoma

Glioblastoma, a lethal form of brain cancer, poses substantial challenges in treatment due to its aggressive nature and resistance to standard therapies like radiation and chemotherapy. Autophagy has a crucial role in glioblastoma progression by supporting cellular homeostasis and promoting survival under stressful conditions. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) play diverse biological roles including, gene regulation, chromatin remodeling, and the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Emerging evidence reveals the intricate regulatory mechanisms of autophagy orchestrated by non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in glioblastoma. The diverse roles of these ncRNAs in regulating crucial autophagy-related pathways, including AMPK/mTOR signaling, the PI3K/AKT pathway, Beclin1, and other autophagy-triggering system regulation, sheds light on ncRNAs biological mechanisms in the proliferation, invasion, and therapy response of glioblastoma cells. Furthermore, the clinical implications of targeting ncRNA-regulated autophagy as a promising therapeutic strategy for glioblastoma treatment are in the spotlight of ongoing studies. In this review, we delve into our current understanding of how ncRNAs regulate autophagy in glioblastoma, with a specific focus on microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), and their intricate interplay with therapy response.

Unveiling autophagy complexity in leukemia: The molecular landscape and possible interactions with apoptosis and ferroptosis

Autophagy is a self-digestion multistep process in which causes the homeostasis through degradation of macromolecules and damaged organelles. The autophagy-mediated tumor progression regulation has been a critical point in recent years, revealing the function of this process in reduction or acceleration of carcinogenesis. Leukemia is a haematological malignancy in which abnormal expansion of hematopoietic cells occurs. The current and conventional therapies from chemotherapy to cell transplantation have failed to appropriately treat the leukemia patients. Among the mechanisms dysregulated in leukemia, autophagy is a prominent one in which can regulate the hallmarks of this tumor. The protective autophagy inhibits apoptosis and ferroptosis in leukemia, while toxic autophagy accelerates cell death. The proliferation and invasion of tumor cells are tightly regulated by the autophagy. The direction of regulation depends on the function of autophagy that is protective or lethal. The protective autophagy accelerates chemoresistance and radio-resistsance. The non-coding RNAs, histone transferases and other pathways such as PI3K/Akt/mTOR are among the regulators of autophagy in leukemia progression. The pharmacological intervention for the inhibition or induction of autophagy by the compounds including sesamine, tanshinone IIA and other synthetic compounds can chance progression of leukemia.

Autophagy machinery in glioblastoma: The prospect of cell death crosstalk and drug resistance with bioinformatics analysis

Brain tumors are common malignancies with high mortality and morbidity in which glioblastoma (GB) is a grade IV astrocytoma with heterogeneous nature. The conventional therapeutics for the GB mainly include surgery and chemotherapy, however their efficacy has been compromised due to the aggressiveness of tumor cells. The dysregulation of cell death mechanisms, especially autophagy has been reported as a factor causing difficulties in cancer therapy. As a mechanism contributing to cell homeostasis, the autophagy process is hijacked by tumor cells for the purpose of aggravating cancer progression and drug resistance. The autophagy function is context-dependent and its role can be lethal or protective in cancer. The aim of the current paper is to highlight the role of autophagy in the regulation of GB progression. The cytotoxic function of autophagy can promote apoptosis and ferroptosis in GB cells and vice versa. Autophagy dysregulation can cause drug resistance and radioresistance in GB. Moreover, stemness can be regulated by autophagy and overall growth as well as metastasis are affected by autophagy. The various interventions including administration of synthetic/natural products and nanoplatforms can target autophagy. Therefore, autophagy can act as a promising target in GB therapy.