Research Progress and Prospects of Autophagy in the Mechanism of Multidrug Resistance in Tumors

Figure 1

A schematic diagram of the autophagy process. This process consists of several phases: Initiation and Nucleation; Elongation and Transportation; Closure and Maturation; Fusion and Degradation. Under the stimulation of external environmental factors such as hypoxia, energy deficiency, and cell stress, etc. The initiation process starts with the activation of the ULK1 complex, and the PI3KC3 complex regulates nucleation. The ATG12-ATG5-ATG16L1 complex and LC3 conjugation participate in the elongation of the phagophore, and the ATG9 protein recruits organelles' membranes to form the autophagic vesicles. After maturation, the autophagosome fuses with the lysosome to form an autolysosome. The autolysosome contents are then degraded.