Inhibition of tumor autophagy: a strategy to improve antitumorimmunity?

In a study recently published in Nature,Lawson et al.confirm several pathways previously implicated in tumor cell sensitivity to cytotoxic T lymphocytes(CTLs),and identify autophagy as an additional pathway involved in mediating tumor immune evasion.1 Autophagy is a regulated and conserved multistep process that enables cells to degrade and recycle intracellular components and is critical for cellular homeostasis.Autophagy has recently been associated with tumor immune evasion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma,2 whereby this process selectively targeted the degradation of major histocompatibility complex I(MHC-I),limiting recognition,and anti-tumor responses by CTLs.Here,Lawson et al.identify an additional role for autophagy in tumor immune evasion,by mediating resistance to cytokine-mediated cell death.