Revealing the role of epigenetic and post-translational modulations of autophagy proteins in the regulation of autophagy and cancer: a therapeutic approach.

Autophagy is a process that is characterized by the destruction of redundant components and the removal of dysfunctional ones to maintain cellular homeostasis. Autophagy dysregulation has been linked to various illnesses, such as neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. The precise transcription of the genes involved in autophagy is regulated by a network of epigenetic factors. This includes histone modifications and histone-modifying enzymes. Epigenetics is a broad category of heritable, reversible changes in gene expression that do not include changes to DNA sequences, such as chromatin remodeling, histone modifications, and DNA methylation. In addition to affecting the genes that are involved in autophagy, the epigenetic machinery can also alter the signals that control this process. In cancer, autophagy plays a dual role by preventing the development of tumors on one hand and this process may suppress tumor progression. This may be the control of an oncogene that prevents autophagy while, conversely, tumor suppression may promote it. The development of new therapeutic strategies for autophagy-related disorders could be initiated by gaining a deeper understanding of its intricate regulatory framework. There is evidence showing that certain machineries and regulators of autophagy are affected by post-translational and epigenetic modifications, which can lead to alterations in the levels of autophagy and these changes can then trigger disease or affect the therapeutic efficacy of drugs. The goal of this review is to identify the regulatory pathways associated with post-translational and epigenetic modifications of different proteins in autophagy which may be the therapeutic targets shortly.