Table 1 Autophagy-related proteins in cancer

AMPK

genetic and transcriptional aberrations

energy homeostasis; tissue-dependent pro- or anticancer impact

many cancer types

[62]

ATG101

overexpression

immunotherapy response

many cancer types

[63]

ATG16L2

overexpression

proteasomal degradation of ATG16L1

many cancer types

[57]

ATG2B, ATG5, ATG9B, ATG12

genetic aberrations, haploinsufficiency

cytoprotection

gastric and colorectal tumours

[56]

ATG9A

overexpression

proliferation

breast cancer

[64]

DEPTOR

reduced expression/overexpression

epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)

low DEPTOR levels in cancer of pancreas, prostate, lungs, triple-negative and breast cancer; high DEPTOR levels in osteosarcoma and differentiated thyroid carcinoma

[60, 65,66,67,68,69]

FIP200

aberrant activation

immune checkpoint therapy response

breast cancer; glioblastoma

[70, 71]

mLST8

overexpression

cancer progression

hepatocellular carcinoma

[72]

mTORC1

overactivation

survival of stem cells; reprogramming of metabolism; tumour invasion and metastasis

many cancer types

[73,74,75]

PRAS40

overexpression

proliferation; enhanced NF-κB activity

hepatocellular carcinoma; lung adenocarcinoma; cutaneous melanoma

[76, 77]

RAP1

changes in the RAP1 activation

formation of cell adhesions and junctions; migration and polarization; may suppress oncogenic Ras phenotype

Rap1 inhibits invasion and metastasis in the bladder, lung, and brain cancer; it has the opposite effect in melanoma and breast cancer or oesophageal squamous cell, head and neck squamous cell pancreatic, and non-small cell lung carcinomas

[78, 79]

RAPTOR

overexpression

proliferation and migration; the resistance to PI3K-mTOR inhibition

colorectal cancer; renal cancer; oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

[80,81,82]

TFE3

gene fusions

insulin-dependent metabolism; retinoblastoma-dependent cell cycle arrest

renal cell carcinoma

[83]

TFEB

gene fusions, transcriptional aberrations

biology of lysosomes; lysosomal exocytosis; proliferation; glutamine metabolism; regulator of tumour-associated macrophages; role in the TME; WNT and TGFβ signalling

Pancreatic, breast , and renal cancer; melanoma; colorectal cancer; gastric carcinoma; non-small cell lung cancer

[84,85,86,87]

TSC1/2

genetic aberrations

anticancer impact

many cancer types

[88]

ULK1

aberrant activation, genetic and transcriptional aberrations

antitumour immunity; NADPH production; innate immune response; cell cycle progression

LKB1-mutant lung cancer and many other types of cancer

[89,90,91,92]

V-ATPase

deregulation of some subunits, overexpression

biogenesis of endosomes and lysosomes; treatment resistance

breast cancer, lung and oesophagal tumours

[93,94,95]

VPS34

aberrant activation

antitumour immunity; survival of cancer stem cells; activation of p62; antigen cross-presenting CD8α+ dendritic cells

melanoma; colorectal cancer; hepatocellular carcinoma

[96,97,98,99]

WIPI3

genetic and transcriptional aberrations

cell cycle and spliceosome

hepatocellular carcinoma

[100]

VAMP3

deletion of WDFY2 (negative regulator of VAMP3 recycling)

increase in extracellular matrix degradation

metastatic ovarian and prostate cancers

[101, 102]

GABARAP

transcriptional aberrations

tumour differentiation; EMT

colorectal cancer; breast cancer

[103, 104]

MAP1LC3A or B

transcriptional aberrations

cancer progression

breast cancer; renal cell carcinoma

[105, 106]

p62/SQSTM1

accumulation

cancer progression

many cancer types

[107]

RAB7

reduced expression

biogenesis of endosomes, autophagosomes, and lysosomes

highly invasive breast cancer

[93]

ESCRT

polymorphism in ESCRT-III (rs35094336, CHMP4C)

endosomal-sorting; cytokinetic abscission; genome instability

many cancer types

[108]

UVRAG

inhibition

cytokine production; oncogenic signalling; progression of age-related malignancies

many cancer types

[109]

Beclin1

genetic and transcriptional aberrations

cytoprotection; proliferation under hypoxia and nutrient starvation

haploinsufficiency in breast and ovarian cancer; overexpression in colorectal and gastric carcinomas

[54, 55, 110]