EFFECT OF POLYPHENOLIC COMPOUNDS ON THE REGULATORS OF AUTOPHAGY

Abstract

Autophagy is a self degradative process in which certain organelles, which are damaged, incorrectly folded or aggregated proteins and some intracellular pathogens undergo lysome mediated enzymatic degradation. Loss of regulation of autophagy can result into certain pathophysiological conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Autophagy plays two roles in cancer, tumor suppression at initial benign stage and tumor progression in established tumors. While Apoptosis is a natural process where cells that are no longer required can be eliminated in a highly regulated, controlled manner. When the apoptotic pathways are impaired or are not tightly regulated, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases, viral and bacterial infections and cancers ensue. Globally cancer is a disease which severely effects the human population. There is a constant demand for new therapies to treat and prevent this life-threatening disease. Scientific and research interest is drawing its attention towards naturally-derived compounds as they are considered to have less toxic side effects compared to current treatments such as chemotherapy. Polyphenols are produced in plants as secondary metabolites due to various kinds of stress. These polyphenolic compounds have the ability to induce cancer cell death via apoptosis and can prevent cancer cell progression. As mentioned, autophagy also plays role in cancer prevention. Hence, the objective of project was to see the effects of selected polyphenols (Quercetin, Curcumin & Resveratol) on the regulators of autophagy like Atg7, ULK1, AMPK etc. with the help of docking. To see whether they can act as anticancer agents via inducing both the processes.