Proteasome inhibitor interacts synergistically with autophagy inhibitor to suppress proliferation and induce apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Abstract

The ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy-lysosome system are 2 major protein degradation pathways in eukaryotic cells, which are tightly linked to cancer. Proteasome inhibitors have been approved in clinical use against hematologic malignancies, but their application in solid tumors is uncertain. Moreover, the role of autophagy after proteasome inhibition is controversial.