Autophagy in ovarian cancer spheroids and metastasis: When cells are
starved for nutrients they will tend to activate strategies to ensure survival
until normal growth conditions are restored. We discovered that ovarian cancer
spheroids induce the process of macroautophagy (or commonly
referred to as autophagy), a universal process among eukaryotes whereby cells
engulf cytoplasmic organelles and macromolecules within double-membraned autophagosomes, then degrade the
contents by fusion with lysosomes to recycle essential metabolites under
bioenergetic stress conditions. We are currently determining whether autophagy
represents a therapeutic vulnerability of ovarian cancer during metastasis and
in the state of tumour dormancy during minimal residual disease.