PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study: Autophagy predicts which cancer cells live and die when faced with anti-cancer drugs

2014-01-11
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Garth Sundem
garth.sundem@ucdenver.edu
University of Colorado Denver
Study: Autophagy predicts which cancer cells live and die when faced with anti-cancer drugs When a tumor is treated with an anti-cancer drug, some cells die and, unfortunately, some cells tend to live. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal Nature Cell Biology details a possible difference between the susceptible and resistant cells: the rate at which cells are able to cleanse themselves via the process known as autophagy.

"In these studies, say we treat cells with the IC-50 of a drug - at that dose, 50 percent of cells should live and 50 percent of cells should die. But the fundamental question is why does cell A die whereas cell B lives? What we show is that the difference may be due to random variation in the amount of autophagy that's going on," says Andrew Thorburn, PhD, deputy director of the CU Cancer Center.

Previous studies show that autophagy promotes cell survival – under conditions of stress or shortage, cells break down non-necessary components to provide energy or use the same strategy to prevent cellular damage by degrading and recycling potentially damaging proteins. And so it seems logical that cancer cells with low autophagy would have high mortality when faced with anti-cancer drugs. However, the current study shows that rates of cell death may increase or decrease depending on levels of autophagy and the specific mechanism of the anti-cancer drug.

"We separated cancer cells into populations with low and high autophagy and then treated them with two drugs, both of which should activate death. Interestingly, when treated with the first drug, cells with high autophagy had the highest mortality. But then when treated with the second drug, cells with low autophagy had the highest mortality. Depending on the drug, the effect of autophagy was opposite," Thorburn says.

Specifically, Thorburn and colleagues including first author Jacob Gump, PhD, treated high- and low-autophagy cell populations with chemicals TRAIL and Fas ligand, which activate cells' death receptors. Cells treated with these chemicals are "told" to die and as the researchers expected, some cells in all populations underwent the programmed cell death known as apoptosis. However, cells with high autophagy were more sensitive to treatment with Fas ligand, whereas cells with low autophagy were more sensitive to TRAIL. Similar differences were seen across types of cancer cells - in some cancers, autophagy protects against these drugs and in others autophagy makes cells more susceptible.

While the work does not necessarily add to our understanding of how autophagy aids cell survival, the group showed how it creates cell death in some tumors when confronted with some drugs: a protein known as FAP-1 is present in some but not all cancer cells where it serves to decrease the ability of Fas ligand to kill the cells. Autophagy degrades this cell-survival protein and this, in turn, makes cells more susceptible to Fas ligand but only in the cells where FAP-1 is normally present.

"If similar variation occurs in other contexts, a cancer cell you're trying to kill could be more or less resistant to whatever you're using to try to kill it depending on its level of autophagy," Thorburn says. Additionally, Thorburn points out that cells in these lab studies tend to be homogenous in their levels of autophagy compared to cells in natural tumor environments. It is likely, he says, these laboratory results will be magnified in actual tumors, where levels of autophagy tend to vary more widely.

While Fas ligand and TRAIL agonists are used in the lab only at this time, Thorburn says the next step in this line of research is to perform similar experiments with drugs that could be used in people.

### END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Text messaging boosts flu vaccine rates in pregnant women

2014-01-11
Text messaging boosts flu vaccine rates in pregnant women January 10, 2014 --A study by researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health evaluated the impact of text messaging reminders for influenza vaccine in a low-income obstetric ...

Complementary medicine in wide use to treat children with autism, developmental delay

2014-01-11
Complementary medicine in wide use to treat children with autism, developmental delay

Study shows large carnivore numbers and range declining worldwide

2014-01-10
Study shows large carnivore numbers and range declining worldwide MISSOULA – New research co-written by University of Montana scientists finds steep declines in the worldwide populations and habitat range of 31 large carnivore species. The analysis, ...

Harvard scientists control cells following transplantation, from the inside out

2014-01-10
Harvard scientists control cells following transplantation, from the inside out New work by Jeffrey Karp, Ph.D., has potential to make cell therapies more functional and efficient Harvard stem cells scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital and MIT can now engineer ...

Indigenous groups more vulnerable in the fight against flu

2014-01-10
Indigenous groups more vulnerable in the fight against flu Research indicated that some Indigenous people such as in Alaska and Australia displayed limited immunity response to the effects of influenza. Published in the Journal Proceedings of the National ...

Living on islands makes animals tamer

2014-01-10
Living on islands makes animals tamer Study confirms Darwin's observations and numerous anecdotal reports of island tameness, says UC Riverside's Theodore Garland RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Most of us have seen pictures and probably YouTube videos of "tame" animals ...

Evidence of harmful effect of bisphenol A-based plastics

2014-01-10
Evidence of harmful effect of bisphenol A-based plastics Function and regeneration of switch proteins impaired Bisphenol A impairs the function of proteins that are vital for growth processes in cells. This finding has been reported by researchers from the ...

Regorafenib: hint of minor added benefit

2014-01-10
Regorafenib: hint of minor added benefit Advantage in overall survival, but disadvantage in severe side effects Regorafenib (trade name: Stivarga) has been approved in Germany since August 2013 for adults with metastatic colorectal ...

KIT researchers develop artificial bone marrow

2014-01-10
KIT researchers develop artificial bone marrow This news release is available in German. Artificial bone marrow may be used to reproduce hematopoietic stem cells. A prototype has now been developed by scientists of KIT, the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent ...

Study quantifies costs when failed banks shun financial transparency

2014-01-10
Study quantifies costs when failed banks shun financial transparency New study shows that more transparent accounting helps bidders, lowers costs when financial institutions fail Good accounting isn't just a hallmark of a well-run company: As a new study ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Novel treatment combination improves progression-free survival in metastatic, estrogen-receptor-positive HER-2-negative breast cancer

ESMO 2025: Trial results show belzutifan shrinks rare neuroendocrine tumors and improves symptoms in patients

ESMO 2025: Dual targeted therapy shows promise in previously treated advanced kidney cancer patients

New generation of Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) shows unprecedented promise in early-stage disease

Sylvester Cancer Tip Sheet for October 2025

Three science and technology leaders elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

Jump Trading CSO Kevin Bowers elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

Former Inscripta CEO Sri Kosaraju elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

Citadel’s Jordan Chetty elected to Hertz Foundation Board of Directors

McGill research flags Montreal snow dump, inactive landfills as major methane polluters

A lightweight and rapid bidirectional search algorithm

Eighty-five years of big tree history available in one place for the first time

MIT invents human brain model with six major cell types to enable personalized disease research, drug discovery

Health and economic air quality co-benefits of stringent climate policies

How immune cells deliver their deadly cargo

How the brain becomes a better listener: How focus enhances sound processing

Processed fats found in margarines unlikely to affect heart health

Scientists discover how leukemia cells evade treatment

Sandra Shi MD, MPH, named 2025 STAT Wunderkind

Treating liver disease with microscopic nanoparticles

Chemicals might be hitching a ride on nanoplastics to enter your skin

Pregnant patients with preexisting high cholesterol may have elevated CV risk

UC stroke experts discuss current and future use of AI tools in research and treatment

The Southern Ocean’s low-salinity water locked away CO2 for decades, but...

OHSU researchers develop functional eggs from human skin cells

Most users cannot identify AI bias, even in training data

Hurricane outages: Analysis details the where, and who, of increased future power cuts

Craters on surface of melanoma cells found to serve as sites for tumor killing

Research Spotlight: Mapping overlooked challenges in stroke recovery

Geographic and temporal patterns of screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer in the US

[Press-News.org] Study: Autophagy predicts which cancer cells live and die when faced with anti-cancer drugs