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Title: The role of autophagy in metal-induced urogenital carcinogenesis.

Authors: Saran, Uttara; Tyagi, Ashish; Chandrasekaran, Balaji; Ankem, Murali K; Damodaran, Chendil

Published In Semin Cancer Biol, (2021 11)

Abstract: Environmental and/or occupational exposure to metals such as Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), and Chromium (Cr) have been shown to induce carcinogenesis in various organs, including the urogenital system. However, the mechanisms responsible for metal-induced carcinogenesis remain elusive. We and others have shown that metals are potent inducers of autophagy, which has been suggested to be an adaptive stress response to allow metal-exposed cells to survive in hostile environments. Albeit few, recent experimental studies have shown that As and Cd promote tumorigenesis via autophagy and that inhibition of autophagic signaling suppressed metal-induced carcinogenesis. In light of the newly emerging role of autophagic involvement in metal-induced carcinogenesis, the present review focuses explicitly on the mechanistic role of autophagy and potential signaling pathways involved in As-, Cd-, and Cr-induced urogenital carcinogenesis.

PubMed ID: 33798723 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Animals; Arsenic/adverse effects; Autophagy/physiology*; Cadmium/adverse effects; Carcinogenesis/chemically induced*; Chromium/adverse effects; Environmental Exposure/adverse effects; Humans; Metals/adverse effects*; Occupational Exposure/adverse effects; Urogenital Neoplasms/chemically induced*; Urogenital Neoplasms/pathology*

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