Autophagy signaling mediated by non-coding RNAs: Impact on breast cancer progression and treatment

Abstract

Autophagy, a conserved cellular mechanism which detoxifies and degrades intracellular structures or biomolecules, has been identified as an important factor in the progression of human breast cancer and the development of treatment resistance. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), a broad family of RNA, have the ability to influence various processes, including autophagy, due to their diverse downstream targets. ncRNAs play an important role in suppressing or activating autophagy by targeting autophagy-triggering components such as the ULK1 complex, Beclin1, and ATGs. Recent research has uncovered the intricate regulatory networks that govern autophagy dynamics, with ncRNAs emerging as key participants in this network. miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs are the three subfamilies of ncRNAs that have the most well-known interactions with autophagy, particularly macroautophagy. The high prevalence of breast cancer necessitates research into finding new biological processes that can help in early detection as well as enhance the effectiveness of treatment. The positive/negative link between autophagy and ncRNAs can be exploited as a supplementary therapy to improve sensitivity to treatment in breast cancer. This review investigates the regulatory roles of ncRNAs, particularly microRNAs (miRNAs), in modifying autophagy pathways in human breast cancer progression and treatment. However, future studies and clinical practice are needed to determine the most relevant microRNAs as biomarkers and also to better understand their role in breast cancer progression or treatment through modifying autophagy.