PAAD

ATG7 function promotes pancreatic cancer progression independently of autophagy

Autophagy is a cellular degradation process that recycles dysfunctional components to maintain cellular homeostasis. Beyond this canonical role, autophagy-related proteins, such as the essential autophagy initiation protein ATG7, are increasingly recognized to have autophagy independent functions in diverse biological processes and disease contexts, including cancer progression and metastasis. However, the mechanisms underlying these autophagy independent functions remain unclear.