Autophagy and apoptosis: what is the connection?

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Autophagy and apoptosis: what is the connection?

Trends in Cell Biology, Volume 21, Issue 7, Pages 387-392, Publication Date 10 May 2011
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2011.03.007

Jacob M. Gump

Andrew Thorburn

Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA

The therapeutic potential of autophagy for the treatment cancer and other diseases is beset by paradoxes stemming from the complexity of the interactions between the apoptotic and autophagic machinery. The simplest question of how autophagy acts as both a protector and executioner of cell death remains the subject of substantial controversy. Elucidating the molecular interactions between the processes will help us understand how autophagy can modulate cell death, whether autophagy is truly a cell death mechanism, and how these functions are regulated. We suggest that, despite many connections between autophagy and apoptosis, a strong causal relationship wherein one process controls the other, has not been demonstrated adequately. Knowing when and how to modulate autophagy therapeutically depends on understanding these connections.

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