Targeting autophagy and beyond: Deconvoluting the complexity of Beclin-1 from biological function to cancer therapy.
10.1016/j.apsb.2023.08.008
- Author:
Jing YE
1
;
Jin ZHANG
1
;
Yanghui ZHU
1
;
Lian WANG
1
;
Xian JIANG
1
;
Bo LIU
1
;
Gu HE
1
Author Information
1. Department of Dermatology, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords:
Autophagy;
Beclin-1;
Cancer therapy;
Non-autophagy;
PI3KC3 complex
- From:
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B
2023;13(12):4688-4714
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Beclin-1 is the firstly-identified mammalian protein of the autophagy machinery, which functions as a molecular scaffold for the assembly of PI3KC3 (class III phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase) complex, thus controlling autophagy induction and other cellular trafficking events. Notably, there is mounting evidence establishing the implications of Beclin-1 in diverse tumorigenesis processes, including tumor suppression and progression as well as resistance to cancer therapeutics and CSC (cancer stem-like cell) maintenance. More importantly, Beclin-1 has been confirmed as a potential target for the treatment of multiple cancers. In this review, we provide a comprehensive survey of the structure, functions, and regulations of Beclin-1, and we discuss recent advances in understanding the controversial roles of Beclin-1 in oncology. Moreover, we focus on summarizing the targeted Beclin-1-regulating strategies in cancer therapy, providing novel insights into a promising strategy for regulating Beclin-1 to improve cancer therapeutics in the future.
