REVIEW article

Front. Cell Dev. Biol., 05 November 2020

Sec. Molecular and Cellular Oncology

Volume 8 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2020.590192

Dietary Energy Modulation and Autophagy: Exploiting Metabolic Vulnerabilities to Starve Cancer

  • 1. Department of Nutrition, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

  • 2. Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States

  • 3. Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

  • 4. Nutrition Research Institute, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kannapolis, NC, United States

Abstract

Cancer cells experience unique and dynamic shifts in their metabolic function in order to survive, proliferate, and evade growth inhibition in the resource-scarce tumor microenvironment. Therefore, identification of pharmacological agents with potential to reprogram cancer cell metabolism may improve clinical outcomes in cancer therapy. Cancer cells also often exhibit an increased dependence on the process known as autophagy, both for baseline survival and as a response to stressors such as chemotherapy or a decline in nutrient availability. There is evidence to suggest that this increased dependence on autophagy in cancer cells may be exploitable clinically by combining autophagy modulators with existing chemotherapies. In light of the increased metabolic rate in cancer cells, interest is growing in approaches aimed at “starving” cancer through dietary and pharmacologic interventions that reduce availability of nutrients and pro-growth hormonal signals known to promote cancer progression. Several dietary approaches, including chronic calorie restriction and multiple forms of fasting, have been investigated for their potential anti-cancer benefits, yielding promising results in animal models. Induction of autophagy in response to dietary energy restriction may underlie some of the observed benefit. However, while interventions based on dietary energy restriction have demonstrated safety in clinical trials, uncertainty remains regarding translation to humans as well as feasibility of achieving compliance due to the potential discomfort and weight loss that accompanies dietary restriction. Further induction of autophagy through dietary or pharmacologic metabolic reprogramming interventions may enhance the efficacy of autophagy inhibition in the context of adjuvant or neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Nonetheless, it remains unclear whether therapeutic agents aimed at autophagy induction, autophagy inhibition, or both are a viable therapeutic strategy for improving cancer outcomes. This review discusses the literature available for the therapeutic potential of these approaches.

Introduction

The overarching term autophagy is generally recognized to encompass three distinct processes: macroautophagy, microautophagy, and chaperone-mediated autophagy. Macroautophagy utilizes an isolation membrane called an autophagosome to sequester and transport protein aggregates or organelles to lysosomes for degradation (; ). In contrast, microautophagy involves direct engulfment of cytoplasmic components through invagination of the lysosomal membrane, while chaperone-mediated autophagy targets select cytosolic proteins and translocates them to the lysosome in a chaperone-dependent manner (; ). In this review, we will focus on pharmacologic and dietary approaches that have been examined for their potential to modulate dependence of cancer cells macroautophagy, referred to hereafter simply as autophagy.

In a growing tumor, cancer cells are faced with increased metabolic demands in a microenvironment characterized by dysfunctional vascularization, hypoxia, and fierce competition for a limited supply of nutrients (; ). Under the harsh conditions of the tumor microenvironment, the highly conserved catabolic process of autophagy can support cancer cell metabolism through supply of critical metabolites via degradation and recycling of precise cargo such as misfolded proteins, dysfunctional mitochondria, and pathogens, as well as non-selective engulfment of bulk cytoplasmic components (; ; ; ). Early studies investigating the effects of autophagy inhibition have utilized genetic silencing of key autophagy genes, effectively disrupting the autophagy cascade and providing more insight into the roles of autophagy in cancer initiation and aggressive features in cancer cells ().

Dietary interventions that restrict caloric intake may induce autophagy in normal and/or cancerous cells, and there is increasing interest in using these interventions clinically with the ultimate goal of manipulating systemic fuel availability to “starve” a developing tumor. Herein we discuss the roles of autophagy in cancer initiation, tumor progression, and therapeutic response. In addition, we provide: (i) an overview of the underlying molecular biology following restriction of dietary energy intake through approaches such as caloric restriction and various forms of fasting; (ii) we summarize the limited evidence from associated clinical trials that have utilized these interventions as an approach to improving treatment outcomes or reducing the toxic side effects of chemotherapy (; ); (iii) we address some of the currently available pharmacological approaches for both induction and inhibition of autophagy; and (iv) we briefly discuss the potential for synergy between dietary or pharmacologic energy manipulation and autophagy inhibition.

Metabolic and Hormonal Regulation of Autophagy

Basal autophagy occurs constitutively through the signaling of hormones and growth factors (), facilitating the maintenance of cellular homeostasis by removing redundant or damaged organelles and generating metabolites used to provide energy to the cell or create new macromolecules (). In contrast, autophagy is induced above basal levels under conditions associated with cellular stress or low energy status, including a high AMP/ATP ratio, nutrient deprivation, and/or reduced growth factor signaling (). The principal cellular regulators of autophagic flux are AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), both of which function to integrate nutrient and energy signaling with cellular metabolism and various forms of fasting (; ; ).

AMPK is an evolutionarily conserved serine/threonine protein kinase that acts as a key sensor of cellular energy status. Upon activation, AMPK works to restore energy homeostasis by activating an array of catabolic pathways including autophagy, as well as phosphorylating and inactivating mTOR (). High AMP/ATP ratios and glucose deprivation are the primary signals for AMPK activation (; ).

mTOR, also a serine/threonine kinase, is a master regulator of cellular growth and proliferation in response to nutrient and hormone signaling; namely, amino acid concentrations and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) and/or insulin levels (). In order to activate downstream anabolic pathways, mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) must be recruited to the lysosome (). The protein complex GATOR1 functions to inhibit mTOR activation via GTP hydrolysis of the heterodimeric Rag GTPases responsible for recruiting mTOR to the lysosomal surface (see Figure 1; ; ). The activity of GATOR1 is regulated by amino acid concentrations—specifically levels of leucine, arginine, and methionine. Leucine and arginine, functioning through SESTRIN and CASTOR respectively, interact with GATOR2 to inhibit mTOR upon amino acid deprivation (; ; ). Leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LRS) functions as another leucine sensor and positive regulator for mTORC1 as a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) for RagD (). SAMTOR, an inhibitor of mTOR and sensor for S-adenosylmethionine, is responsible for mTOR inactivation in the context of methionine deprivation (Figure 1), which improves insulin sensitivity and extend lifespan in rodents (; ).

FIGURE 1

Growth factor signaling involving insulin and IGF1 is another well-established upstream regulator of mTOR that further integrates host nutrient status with cellular metabolism. Both insulin and IGF1 activate the PI3K/AKT signaling axis upon binding to their tyrosine kinase receptor, resulting in increased activation of mTORC1 at the lysosomal surface (). Insulin, a peptide hormone produced by pancreatic β-cells, is released in response to elevated blood glucose (). Hyperglycemia is a hallmark of metabolic syndrome and is associated with insulin resistance, aberrant glucose metabolism, chronic inflammation, and the production of other metabolic hormones such as IGF1, leptin, and adiponectin (). IGF1, a peptide growth factor produced primarily by the liver, is typically bound to IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs), which regulate the amount of free IGF1 bioavailable to bind to the IGF1 receptor (IGF1R) to induce growth or survival signaling (). In metabolic syndrome, the amount of bioavailable IGF1 increases via hyperglycemia-induced suppression of IGFBP synthesis and/or hyperinsulinemia-induced promotion of hepatic GH receptor expression and IGF1 synthesis (). Elevated circulating IGF1 is an established risk factor for many cancer types ().

Autophagy is initiated by the activation of Unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1 (ULK1). Upon activation, ULK1 phosphorylates autophagy-related protein 13 (ATG13) and focal adhesion kinase family interacting protein of 200 kD (FIP200), promoting the association of a protein complex involving ULK1 and the non-catalytic subunits ATG13, FIP200, and ATG101 (). This ULK1 signaling complex links cellular energy status with autophagy induction, as AMPK activates the complex by binding and phosphorylating ULK1 on S317 and S777, while mTOR phosphorylates S757, blocking ULK1 association with AMPK (). Thus, ULK1 signaling is responsive to both ATP levels (through AMPK) and amino acid levels (through mTOR) (; ).

Activation of the ULK1 complex initiates the formation of the phagophore, which requires translocation of the complex to an endoplasmic reticulum domain enriched for the lipid phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate [PI(3)P] (; ). ULK1 also promotes the activation of Beclin 1 (BECN1)-containing PI3K class III complexes by disrupting the formation of inhibitory BECN1/BCL2 heterotetramers (). Two distinct PI3K complexes, consisting of BECN1, vacuolar protein sorting protein 15 (VPS15), VPS34 and either ATG14 (complex I) or UV radiation resistance-associated gene protein (UVRAG) (complex II), are critical to phagophore initiation and autophagosome maturation, respectively (). BECN1 and ATG14 on the PI3K class III complex I are phosphorylated by ULK1, activating the complex. Activation and recruitment of PI3K complex 1 to the site of autophagosome formation drives nucleation of the phagophore membrane and generation of PI(3)P, which is essential for recruiting additional ATG proteins and PI(3)P effectors, such as WIPI (). PI3K class III complex II promotes downstream fusion of the autophagosome with an endosome-lysosome, resulting in the breakdown of sequestered cellular components (). mTOR directly inhibits the lipid kinase activity of both PI3K class III complexes through phosphorylation of ATG14 and UVRAG (; ).

Following nucleation of the phagophore via the PI3K class III complex I, two conjugation systems involving ubiquitin-like proteins associate with the membrane to aid in phagophore expansion and autophagosome formation. ATG12 is first activated by ATG7 before binding irreversibly to ATG5, which interacts further with a small coiled-coil protein, ATG16, to form the larger ATG12-ATG5-ATG16L complex (). The complex is recruited to the phagophore membrane and functions as an E3-like ligase to mediate the lipidation of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) with phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (). LC3-PE can be localized to both the inner and outer membranes of the autophagosome, and upon autophagosome maturation, the lipidated LC3 on the outer membrane gets deconjugated by Atg4 (). The ATG proteins then dissociate from the membrane before its closure into an autophagosome, while lipidated LC3 remains attached to the inner surface of the autophagosome. LC3 is believed to aid in expansion and closure of the isolation membrane, and is a widely used marker for identifying autophagosomes and monitoring autophagic flux (). LC3 also serves as a binding motif for multiple mitophagy-associated receptors such as BNIP3 and FUNDC1, allowing for delivery of the autophagosome membrane to the mitochondria for receptor-mediated mitophagy (; ). LC3 also plays a critical role in ubiquitin mediated autophagy/mitophagy, where it binds LC3 interacting region (LIR) motifs of proteins such as p62 (SQSTM1, Sequestosome 1), OPTN (Optineurin), and NBR1(NBR1 Autophagy Cargo Receptor) which serve as a bridge between ubiquitinated cargo and autophagy machinery ().

Autophagy and Cancer

Autophagy in Cancer Initiation

Basal autophagy exerts a protective role in suppressing malignant transformation and early tumorigenesis by regulating cellular homeostasis and metabolism through the degradation of intracellular components (). Autophagy was initially thought to be a tumor suppressive mechanism because BECN1, key in phagophore formation, is a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor with monoallelic loss in several human breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers (; ). However, this finding is confounded by the location of BECN1 adjacent to the well established tumor suppressor breast cancer 1, early onset (BRCA1) on chromosome 17q21. Nonetheless, the cellular “quality control” resulting from the unfolded protein response, preservation of genomic stability, and prevention of reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation point to autophagy as a mechanism suppressing cancer initiation (; ). Cancer cells exhibit reduced proteolysis or autophagic activity when compared with non-transformed cells (; ; ).

Although human cancers largely lack evidence of genetic inactivation of core autophagy machinery, various murine models have revealed that knockouts of key autophagic genes promote tumorigenesis (). In addition to its role in initiating autophagy (), BECN1 is essential for early embryonic development and regulates growth factor receptor signaling (; ). As a result, biallelic deletions of BECN1 cannot be studied because of lethality in animal models. In a model of immortalized mouse mammary epithelial cells (IMMECs) in nude mice, monoallelic BECN1 loss increased sensitization to metabolic stress, induced DNA damage response, and stimulated gene amplification in support of mammary tumorigenesis (). Furthermore, BECN1 overexpression in MCF7 breast carcinoma cells reduced tumorigenesis in nude mice (). Moreover, BECN1 heterozygosity in MMTV-Wnt1 mice revealed increased WNT-1 driven mammary tumorigenesis compared with wildtype controls (). Similarly, mice with either a monoallelic deletion for autophagy and Beclin1 regulator 1 (Ambra1) or a biallelic deletion for SH3 Domain Containing GRB2 Like, Endophilin B1 (SH3GLB1, aka Bif-1) revealed higher rates of spontaneous tumor incidence (). UVRAG, another critical autophagy protein, is a component of Class III PI3K complex II, and activates BECN1 to enable phagophore formation (). Mutated UVRAG has been reported to suppress autophagy and promote tumor growth in colorectal cancers ().

The role of autophagy in early breast tumorigenesis remains unresolved. Murine models of hereditary breast cancer showed that monoallelic loss of BECN1 reduces tumorigenesis and facilitates p53 induction (). Similarly, Palb2f/f; Wap-cre mice with monoallelic loss of BECN1 (BECN1±) experienced a significant delay in mammary tumor formation compared with mice homozygous in BECN1 expression (). Additionally, showed that BECN1 is essential for the tumorigenicity of breast cancer stem-like cells. BECN1 competes with myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (MCL1), an antiapoptotic BCL2 family member, for stabilization by a common deubiquitinase, USP9X (). Accordingly, loss of BECN1 may result in MCL1 accumulation (). Hence, BECN1 may regulate breast cancer initiation through an autophagy-independent pathway.

Genetic disruption of other autophagy-related genes has also revealed autophagy-associated regulation of cancer initiation in other cancer types. ATG7 is essential for hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) maintenance, and deleting ATG7 in LSK (LinSca-1+c-Kit+) cells resulted in HSC dysfunction, increased DNA damage, elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS), and myeloproliferation. Histologically, the infiltrating myeloid cells in these ATG7-deficient mice reportedly bear semblance to acute myeloid leukemia (). Additionally, mice with systemic mosaic deletion of Atg5 and liver specific Atg7 deletion develop benign liver tumors more frequently than wildtype control mice (). Impairing autophagy through in vivo tissue-specific deletion of Atg7 in pancreatic epithelial cells revealed increased inflammation, ROS accumulation, and mitochondrial damage, markers of oxidative stress that are well known risk factors for promoting cancer initiation ().

Autophagy may also protect against cancer via suppression of oxidative stress via modulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nfe2l2/Nrf2)/kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) and SQSTM1/p62 pathway (; ). p62 is a selective substrate of autophagy and cargo adapter that can disturb the Nfe2l2-Keap1 association, leading to the selective degradation of Keap1 and translocation of Nfe2l2 to activate antioxidant stress response genes (). Under normal conditions, p62 is degraded by autophagy via its LC3 interaction region (LIR), but impaired autophagy leads to the accumulation of oncogenic p62 aggregates (). Thus, the connection of oxidative stress to cancer promotion and the abnormal accumulation of p62 in several breast (; ) and other cancers (; ; ) may in part explain the tumor suppressive effects of autophagy.

Autophagy Dependence in Cancer Malignancy and Response to Therapy

In contrast to the protective role of autophagy in maintaining function and integrity in normal cells, following transformation, autophagy promotes progression and metastasis in several cancer types, thus revealing the “double edged” role of autophagy in cancer (). In established tumors, autophagy may also act as an essential adaptive response to promote growth and overcome cellular stressors (). For example, a variety of human cancers with mutations in the oncogene Ras—including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), bladder, large cell lung, colon, and prostate cancers—have high levels of basal autophagy in vivo even under nutrient-replete conditions, and are subsequently more sensitive to pharmacological autophagy inhibition (). Constitutive activation of the GTPase KRAS promotes mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling as well as increased dependence on autophagy (). Some types of Ras-driven cancers, such as those with H-RasV12 or K-RasV12 mutations, display up-regulated levels of basal autophagy despite active mTORC1 (; ). Signaling through the Ras/Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase (ERK) pathway also induces autophagy through BECN1 (; ; ; ). These cancers are considered “autophagy addicted,” as they not only require autophagy in the absence of nutrients but also depend on autophagy for tumor growth (). In these tumors, mTOR can be bypassed as a regulator of autophagy (; ).

An illustrative example of Ras-driven autophagy addiction is PDAC, a highly aggressive cancer with a near 100% KRAS mutation frequency and a 5-year survival rate of less than 5 percent (; ). To investigate the interplay between autophagy and Ras-mediated tumorigenesis, transduced non-tumorigenic immortal baby mouse kidney cells (iBMK) with H-rasV12 or K-rasV12 and evaluated tumor growth in the presence or absence of the key autophagy genes Atg5 and Atg7. The chronic impairment of autophagy significantly reduced tumor formation in nude mice (). Interestingly, in KRASG12D-driven humanized mouse models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), deletion of Atg5 or Atg7 leads to development of premalignant pancreatic lesions, while preventing further progression to malignancy (; ).

In HER2-positive breast cancer, the precise role of autophagy in tumorigenesis and tumor progression is currently being investigated. Recent work has demonstrated that HER2-positive breast cancer cells utilize lower levels of basal autophagy compared to HER2-negative breast cancers under normal conditions, but under stressed conditions, induce autophagy to a greater extent (). This differential induction of autophagy was mediated in part through activation of ATG4B, a protease that cleaves pro-LC3B to form LC3-I during autophagosome formation (). Interestingly, a recent study by demonstrated a novel mechanism of autophagy suppression via interaction of HER2 with BECN1. HER2-positive breast cancer patients with allelic loss of BECN1 have worse clinical prognosis, suggesting that suppression of autophagy through this interaction may have pro-tumorigenic effects. Indeed, disruption of this interaction using a small molecule, Tat-Beclin 1, in mice bearing BT-474-VH2 xenografts resulted in increased autophagy induction and reduced tumor progression as effectively as treatment with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib ().

Autophagy plays a role in nearly every phase of the metastatic cascade, including modulation of tumor cell motility and invasion, cancer stem cell viability and differentiation, resistance to anoikis, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, tumor cell dormancy and escape from immune surveillance, and establishment of the pre-metastatic niche (for a recent review on this topic the reader is referred to ). Importantly, autophagy is also upregulated in response to stressful stimuli such as DNA damage induced by cytotoxic agents, contributing to treatment resistance (). For example, increased autophagy induction in response to treatment with the HER2-directed therapies trastuzumab and lapatinib has been implicated as a mechanism of drug resistance. Compared to trastuzumab-sensitive SKBR3 breast cancer cells, trastuzumab-resistant JIMT-1 cells constitutively utilize higher levels of autophagy in order to sustain proliferative activities (). Similarly, treatment of HER2-positive cells with lapatinib has been shown to increase autophagy induction, which, if sustained, allows cells to survive and develop drug-resistance (; ; ).

Promotion of Autophagy Through Nutrient or Energy Restriction

Collectively, the studies described above highlight the context-dependent role of autophagy in cancer incidence and progression. Thus, it may be unsurprising that both autophagy induction and autophagy inhibition have shown promise as viable therapeutic strategies for improving cancer outcomes. Evidence for autophagy induction achieved through nutrient or energy restriction is described below.

Approaches for and Cellular Impact of Dietary Energy Restriction

Approaches to restricting dietary energy intake include caloric restriction (CR) and fasting. CR is a dietary manipulation which decreases typical (ad libitum) caloric intake by 20–40% without incurring malnutrition () and has potent anticancer effects in both developing and established cancer (). On the other hand, fasting involves short term reduction of caloric intake to 0–500 calories for defined intervals of time, typically while consuming water alone, or, in the case of partial fasting regimens, consuming vegetable broths and/or fruit juices (). Intermittent fasting regimens involve cycles of short-term reduction of caloric intake in intervals ranging from 1 to 3 days per week. This method encompasses protocols for whole-day fasting, time-restricted feeding, and alternate-day fasting (). Whole day fasting indicates total deprivation from caloric intake for periods typically ranging from 24 to 48 h per week, either consecutively or non-consecutively, with ad libitum feeding on remaining days (). Time-restricted feeding regimens define consecutive periods of ad libitum feeding that range from 3 to 12 h per day with complete fasting during the remaining hours. Intermittent fasting can also be achieved through alternate day fasting or by following the 5:2 diet. In clinical and preclinical protocols for the 5:2 diet, caloric consumption is restricted to approximately 25% of energetic needs on fasting days, with ad libitum feeding on the remaining days of the feeding cycle ().

Under conditions of low nutrient availability, such as those that occur during fasting, autophagic flux is increased in normal and malignant cells to liberate metabolic substrates via degradation of intracellular structures such as damaged proteins and mitochondria. For example, during fasting periods of 12–24 h, mice experience an induction of autophagy in several tissues, including the liver, kidney, and neurons (; ; ). Specifically, fasting potently activates AMPK in multiple tissues, including skeletal muscle, adipocytes, and the hypothalamus (Figure 2; ; ; ). Interestingly, endocrine signaling involving ghrelin, a gut-brain peptide upregulated during periods of fasting, has tissue-specific effects on AMPK activation, as ghrelin activates AMPK in neurons and the hypothalamus yet inhibits AMPK in cardiomyocytes (Figure 2; ; ; ; ).

FIGURE 2

Both the ATG12- ATG5- ATG16L and LC3 conjugation systems are regulated by protein acetylation status—further tying autophagic flux to cellular energy and nutrient status (). High levels of acetyl CoA, characteristic of a fed, high-energy state, repress autophagy through acetylation of ATG5, ATG7, ATG12, and LC3 by the p300 acetyltransferase (; ). Conversely, increased expression and activity of the NAD+-dependent sirtuin 1 (sirt1), inducible by caloric restriction, stimulates autophagy via direct deacetylation of the Atg and LC3 machinery (Figure 2; ; ). Fasting and caloric restriction result in an increase in the cellular NAD+/NADH ratio, resulting in high concentrations of the NAD+ substrate necessary for sirtuin activity (). Other sirtuins regulate autophagy indirectly. Sirt2 has been implicated in autophagy modulation through its role in inactivating cytosolic FoxO1, which, under starvation conditions, disassociates from Sirt2 and promotes autophagy via acetylation of lysine residues on Atg7 (). Sirt3, the primary mitochondrial histone deacetylase, plays a key role in oxidative stress homeostasis through its role in deacetylation of superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), a major mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme. Caloric restriction and oxidative stress increase the expression of Sirt3, which is now recognized as a critical component of multiple autophagy inducing pathways (; ; ; ).

Systemic Impact of Dietary Energy Restriction

CR and fasting promote longevity in model organisms via reprogramming of endocrine signaling and systemic metabolism, reducing exposure to oxidative stress, and improved mitochondrial function (). Autophagy has been implicated in CR-mediated effects on longevity, and animal models have also demonstrated that this induction of autophagy is necessary for survival during fasting, as it is required to prevent fatal hypoglycemia and cachexia (). In the context of cancer, chronic CR has demonstrated tumor suppressive effects in breast, colon, and pancreatic cancers in animal models (; ; ).

In rodents, fasting and CR modulate similar metabolic targets, but elicit distinct physiological responses (). During periods of fasting, serum glucose levels decrease and hepatic glycogen stores diminish within 24 h (). Alternative metabolic pathways are upregulated to provide substrates for energy utilization; for example, gluconeogenesis is activated to provide glucose to specific tissues, primarily the brain. Additionally, β-oxidation of free fatty acids released from adipose tissue is upregulated, while the ketone bodies β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate, released as a byproduct of β-oxidation and from the conversion of ketogenic amino acids, are utilized in the process of ketolysis (). Fasting also results in pronounced endocrine changes, as discussed below. In mice, intermittent fasting regimens are modeled by completely removing food for approximately 24–48 h every 5–7 days (). This intervention decreases fasting insulin, glucose concentrations, total plasma cholesterol, and triglycerides as effectively as continuous CR (). Within a 48 h fasting period, blood glucose decreases by roughly 50% ().

Metabolic benefits from CR and/or fasting have also been demonstrated in humans. Adherence to these dietary restriction protocols promotes modest weight loss and reductions in total plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, glucose, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (; ; ). For example, a 48 h fast in rodents results in weight loss of approximately 20 percent of total body weight, compared to a 4 day fast in humans which results in less than 2 percent weight loss (). While blood glucose levels in humans decrease after 2 days in the fasted state, clinically acceptable glucose levels are maintained within this period (). Additionally, in humans and mice, IGF1 levels decrease by approximately 30 and 70 percent, respectively, during periods of fasting ranging from 24 to 72 h (). Alternatively, IGF1 decreases by 25 percent with continuous CR in mice, but in humans does not decline unless CR is also accompanied by restriction of protein intake (). An intermittent fasting regimen that restricted calories by 85% on alternate fasting days in mice resulted in decreases in IGF1, leptin, and visceral fat, and increased levels of adiponectin (). Thus, a variety of dietary energy restriction approaches are available to reduce circulating IGF1.

A reduction in circulating IGF1 and insulin levels in humans may result in increased autophagic flux through downregulation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway (Figure 2; ). Leptin, an adipokine, is another known regulator of energy expenditure and neuroendocrine signaling, and is associated with cancer progression (). Leptin has tissue-specific effects on autophagy; however, it is predominantly associated with autophagy inhibition via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway (; ; ). In both obese and normal weight humans, fasting and CR also decrease serum concentrations of leptin, consistent with its classical role as a satiety hormone (; ; ).

Intermittent fasting regimens have not consistently been demonstrated to improve insulin and glucose control (). One study that compared the metabolic impact of intermittent CR (2 days per week) vs. continuous CR (7 days per week) in overweight, premenopausal women demonstrated that intermittent CR resulted in a greater reduction in fasting insulin levels and insulin resistance (). In both interventions, similar decreases in leptin, C-reactive protein, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides were achieved, but the differences in glycemic control that followed adherence to each respective regimen indicate that different mechanisms may be driving the metabolic alterations ().

Dietary Energy Restriction During Cancer Therapy

In response to fasting and fasting-mimicking diets, normal cells enter a state characterized by decreased cellular division, reduced metabolic activity, and increased utilization of repair pathways, resulting in chemo-protective effects (; ). Decreased levels of bioavailable serum IGF1 and reduced activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR axis are implicated in both the longevity effects of CR as well as this fasting-induced stress resistance in normal cells (; ). Conversely, as malignant cells are unable to downregulate their oncogene-driven metabolic programs, their sensitivity to chemotherapeutics is retained or even increased following bouts of short-term fasting, resulting in destruction of cancer cells by chemotherapy in a phenomenon termed differential stress-sensitization (; ).

Though the impact of dietary energy restriction on cancer progression in humans has not yet been fully characterized, interventions which reduce caloric intake during cytotoxic chemotherapy may improve therapeutic efficacy while reducing undesirable side effects in untransformed cells (). In humans, side effects from cytotoxic chemotherapies include nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal inflammation, central and peripheral neurotoxicity and neuropathy, bone marrow toxicities such as myelosuppression and febrile neutropenia, and long-term sequelae including cardiovascular disease and increased risk of secondary malignancies (). These side effects are non-trivial and may result in physical and emotional stress that poses an obstacle to treatment, negatively influencing patient outcomes.

Numerous short-term fasting protocols, including intermittent fasting, periodic fasting, and fasting-mimicking diets, have been tested for their ability to improve efficacy and tolerability of chemotherapy cycles (). Unlike intermittent fasting, periodic fasting regimens last for 3 days or longer and are repeated every 2 or more weeks, while fasting-mimicking regimens use a plant-based low carbohydrate and low-protein diet that is indicated for use every 3 to 4 weeks (; ). There are numerous clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov investigating the impact of fasting or other dietary energy restriction approaches on response to chemotherapy across a wide variety of cancer types. Most of these trials to date have focused on tolerability of the fasting or fasting-mimicking regimen in combination with chemotherapy as well as measurable side effects in human subjects. We will discuss below representative trials for which final or interim results have been peer-reviewed for publication or submitted as abstracts for presentation at major conferences.

conducted a randomized, individually controlled cross-over trial wherein subjects with breast and ovarian cancers underwent a modified fasting protocol for multiple 60 h periods over the course of three out of six cycles of chemotherapy (36 h before to 24 h after the chemotherapy; subjects were fasted during either the first three cycles or the second three cycles). Subjects were allowed a maximum daily intake of intake of 350 kcal during fasting periods and reported improved quality-of-life and reduced self-reported fatigue following therapy when therapy was administered during a fasting period (). Greater benefit was perceived when subjects were fasted during the first three chemotherapy cycles as opposed to the second three cycles ().

reported a protective effect of prolonged fasting cycles during chemotherapy against chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression in mice, as well as preliminary findings suggesting myeloprotective effects of fasting in humans. Similarly, investigated whether fasting for 24 h before receiving (neo) adjuvant TAC-chemotherapy therapy and for a subsequent 24 h after completing therapy could reduce hematological toxicity in subjects with stage II and III HER2-negative BC, using γ-H2AX in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) as a proxy marker for chemotherapy toxicity in normal somatic cells. No significant differences were observed in the frequency of grade I, II, III, or IV side effects due to fasting; however, fasted subjects experienced attenuated bone marrow toxicity as well as a smaller and less consistent increase in markers of chemotherapy-induced DNA damage in PBMCs compared to non-fasted subjects (). Of note, while fasting significantly reduced IGF1 as compared with baseline values, final IGF1 serum values did not differ across the two treatment arms (). Similar findings suggesting protection against bone marrow toxicity and DNA damage in circulating PBMCs were also reported following prolonged fasting (48–72 h) in subjects receiving platinum-based combination chemotherapy without concurrent radiation across a variety of cancer types (). Limitations of this study include a small sample size and the lack of a non-fasted control group (). Importantly, the safety of completely abstaining from food for periods of 2 or more days has been demonstrated in a medically-supervised setting with the majority of cancer patients experiencing minimal adverse reactions (; ; ).

Taken together, the quantitative biomarker-based data available to support fasting-induced differential stress resistance in humans during chemotherapy is limited but compelling. Considering the importance of autophagy in protection against genotoxic insult and cellular transformation, future studies should address whether autophagy induction in normal cells underlies the reduced severity of chemotherapy-induced side effects and/or increased rate of cellular repair in normally functioning cells in response to dietary restriction.

Dietary Energy Restriction in Cancer Cachexia

Cancer cachexia is a catabolic wasting syndrome characterized by anorexia and progressive loss of muscle and adipose tissue mass (). The combination of hypermetabolism and the anorectic effect of elevated IL-6 contribute to a chronic caloric deficit of approximately 200-450 kcals per day in weight-losing patients with cachexia (; ). Elevated IL-6 also leads to the release of glucocorticoids, which contribute to muscle wasting in cancer cachexia (). While parenteral nutritional supplementation provides some benefit, as does enteral tube feeding (), there is little effect on mortality in response to oral dietary supplementation ().

Given the strong relationship between caloric intake and mortality in patients with cachexia, CR/fasting interventions in patients with advanced cancers may not be advised. Some of the metaboendocrine effects of CR—including improved insulin sensitivity, reduced leptin, and increased ghrelin—have been independently considered as approaches for intervention in cancer cachexia. For example, treatment with ghrelin has arisen as a promising treatment option in cancer cachexia, improving appetite, food consumption, and body composition (). While CR is associated with elevation of ghrelin, by definition of CR this elevation cannot translate into improved caloric intake. Additionally, low leptin predicts poor survival in cancer cachexia (), while induction of autophagy in response to CR contributes to muscle wasting in mouse models of cachexia (, ).

Other approaches used to combat cachexia have included several immunomodulatory agents, which dampen proinflammatory signaling (). While inflammatory signaling pathways are reduced by CR, growth factor signaling is also reduced (); thus it is unclear whether the anti-inflammatory aspects of CR promote or impair retention of skeletal muscle mass, or perhaps even further exacerbate wasting. In an experimental model of cachexia, CR preserved grip strength but did not otherwise alter the course of cachexia (). It should also be noted that in this study CR was not compared against other protective interventions (). In summary, while CR may appear to promote a protective metaboendocrine state, limited evidence support a protective role for CR and much of the existing literature implicate CR as a potentially deleterious intervention in the context of cachexia. Thus, any consideration of CR or fasting in cancer therapy should include assessment of the patient’s risk of cachexia.

Pharmacological Autophagy Modulation as an Approach to Cancer Treatment

Perturbing Growth Factor Signaling as a Mimetic of Dietary Energy Restriction

Reductions in circulating IGF1 may be an important driver of the potent anticancer effects of dietary restriction, as fasting and CR result in enhanced cancer cell apoptosis, reduced angiogenesis, and alterations in key metabolites and systemic signaling pathways downstream of IGF1/IGF1R (). As a reduction in bioavailable IGF1 is a common theme in response to dietary energy restriction interventions, it is tempting to speculate that inhibitors of IGF1 signaling could be used as a metabolic reprogramming intervention and mimetic of energy restriction (Figure 3), yielding some of the protective effects of fasting on chemotherapy toxicity. IGF1 is a nutrient-sensitive endocrine hormone that is primarily secreted by the liver. Upon binding of IGF1 to its cognate receptor, insulin-like growth factor receptor 1 (IGF1R), autophosphorylation events lead to the activation of two signaling axes—MAPK and PI3K (class I)/AKT/mTOR—which promote increased cell proliferation, inhibition of autophagy, and evasion of cell death (; ). Human studies have demonstrated that modest protein restriction in a chronic CR regimen modulates anti-cancer effects associated with decreased IGF1 levels (). However, monoclonal antibodies directed at IGF1R have resulted in unexpected toxicity in human subjects when combined with chemotherapy (; ; ), while several small molecule inhibitors of IGF1R have not yielded clinical benefit when used as single agents in clinical trials (; ; ; ). Yet, small molecule IGF1R inhibitors—as well as inhibitors of other components of the IGF1R pathway—may still hold clinical potential when used in combination therapies. For example, combination of AXL1717 (picropodophyllin), an IGF1R pathway inhibitor, with gemcitabine HCl and carboplatin yielded an acceptable toxicity profile in previously untreated, locally advanced, or metastatic NSCLC (). Similarly, BMS-754807 is a reversible small molecule inhibitor of IGF1R and insulin receptor (IR) () that has demonstrated effectiveness in vitro in combination with anti-cancer therapies for the treatments of breast, pancreatic, colon, lung, and gastric cancers (). IGF1R inhibition may also be an approach to tackling drug resistance in HER2-overexpressing breast cancers, as one of the potential mechanisms of resistance to trastuzumab occurs through upregulation of IGF1R and subsequent cross-phosphorylation and activation of HER2 ().

FIGURE 3

), receptor-targeting monoclonal antibodies, or small molecule inhibitors (e.g., AXL1717 and BMS-754807) (). mTOR signaling is directly inhibited with compounds such as temsirolimus, and everolimus (). Autophagy can be inhibited with lysosomotropic agents such as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, which inhibit maturation of the autophagolysosome ().

Direct inhibition of mTOR has also been investigated as an approach to manipulation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR axis (Figure 3). Combination of the PI3K/mTOR inhibitor buparlisib with fulvestrant resulted in a significant increase in median progression-free survival yet an unacceptable toxicity profile in postmenopausal women with hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative, advanced breast cancer (). However, mTOR inhibition via temsirolimus or everolimus, a derivative of rapamycin that inhibits activation of mTORC1 by binding to FKBP12 (also known as RAD001 or Affinitor), in combination with liposomal doxorubicin and bevacizumab was well tolerated and yielded an increase in objective response rate in patients with metaplastic TNBCs bearing PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway aberrations ().

Treatment with everolimus downregulates the nutrient-sensing effects of mTOR and results in reduced protein synthesis, cellular proliferation, and glucose uptake, as well as increased autophagic flux (). In HER2-positive breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab plus everolimus, serum metabolomic analysis revealed that this combination modulated a physiological state similar to that which occurs during fasting where lipolysis and autophagy are upregulated and gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis are decreased (). The combination of everolimus with HER2-directed therapies is also a promising approach to combat drug resistance. In drug resistant HER2-positive breast tumors, trastuzumab treatment increases phosphorylation of PDK1 and mTOR, which activates ribosomal protein S6 kinase beta-1 (S6K1) and promotes anabolic activities (). Blocking this escape pathway with everolimus is one approach to improve the efficacy of trastuzumab.

Metabolic Reprogramming Interventions (MRIs)

In addition to direct inhibition of growth factor signaling, a pharmacological strategy currently being investigated to treat cancer involves the combination of metabolic reprogramming interventions (MRIs) with traditional cytotoxic chemotherapies. These approaches are based on the identification of compounds that mimic the beneficial effects of caloric restriction without the need for challenging dietary changes. A subclass of MRIs is termed caloric restriction mimetics (CRMs), which induce a metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells intended to recapitulate the biochemical effects of dietary energy restriction.

CRMs exert their anticancer effects by increasing autophagic flux in response to a reduction in cellular protein acetylation (). This increase in autophagic flux results in an increase in extracellular ATP, a potent chemoattractant for professional phagocytes (), and therefore promotes immunogenic cell death. provide compelling evidence that robust immunosurveillance and increased chemotherapeutic efficacy following nutrient deprivation are dependent upon an increase in cancer cell autophagy; the increased chemosensitivity and enhanced immunity were reversible upon intraperitoneal injection of recombinant IGF1). Importantly, success of antineoplastic therapies in the long-term is largely determined by their ability to reinstate robust and prolonged anticancer immunosurveillance ().

Pharmacological Inhibition of Autophagy

Despite gaps in our understanding of autophagy’s complete role in cancer, pharmacological inhibition of autophagy is currently being investigated for potential use as adjuvant therapy, as inhibition of autophagy causes metabolic instability that can be exacerbated in combination with therapy (). Chloroquine (CQ) is a pharmacological agent that indirectly inhibits autophagy by preventing endosomal acidification, resulting in inhibition of lysosomal enzymes that require an acidic pH and disrupting the maturation of the autophagolysosome (Figure 3; ; ). In preclinical models of Ras-driven pancreatic cancers, CQ has been shown to effectively reduce cell growth, tumorigenicity, and oxidative phosphorylation (). demonstrated that CQ potently retards in vitro proliferation and anchorage-independent growth of several different human pancreatic cell lines. Moreover, CQ treatment significantly increased survival in a transgenic, Kras-driven murine model of PDAC and diminished in vivo growth of a human PDAC cell line in immunocompromised mice ().

However promising, the translational relevance of these findings is limited. Subcutaneous injection of pancreatic cell lines precludes investigation into factors within the pancreatic tumor microenvironment that may hinder or promote tumor cell survival in the face of autophagy ablation. Similarly, the use of immunocompromised mice prevents identification of potentially important effects of autophagy inhibition on tumor immunosurveillance (; ). Of note, a phase II pharmacodynamic study that used the chloroquine analog hydroxychloroquine (HCQ, which has been shown to have decreased toxicity in humans compared to CQ) to inhibit autophagy in patients with metastatic PDAC showed no significance in progression-free survival ().

Many chemotherapies—such as gemcitabine, which is commonly used to treat PDAC, or platinum-based compounds used in the treatment of primary and metastatic breast cancers—induce autophagic flux, and the putative cytoprotective roles of autophagy may limit the efficacy of chemotherapy (; ; ). Therefore, CQ in combination with chemotherapy may present an attractive therapeutic strategy to increase the cytotoxicity of treatment regimens (). Indeed, combination treatment with chloroquine and gemcitabine showed increased efficacy in delaying tumor growth of patient-derived PDAC xenografts relative to the use of either as a single agent (). A phase I clinical trial in patients with metastatic or unresectable PDAC reported no dose-limiting toxicities following a combination of CQ and gemcitabine; furthermore, of the nine patients enrolled in the trial, 3 patients showed a partial response while two patients exhibited stable disease (). At the time of this review, the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania is actively recruiting patients with advanced primary or metastatic PDAC to explore the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in combination with gemcitabine or another chemotherapeutic agent (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01506973). Collectively these findings suggest that CQ and its analogs may have the potential to improve clinical outcomes in PDAC treatment when used in combination with current standard-of-care chemotherapy approaches.

Consistent with findings in PDAC, CQ-associated increases in therapeutic potency of chemotherapeutic agents have also been reported in preclinical TNBC studies. Gemcitabine induced mTOR-independent autophagy in MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro; accordingly, combination treatment with CQ and gemcitabine resulted in increased apoptotic cell counts compared to treatment with only gemcitabine (). Similarly, a model of human TNBC using subcutaneous patient derived xenografts (PDX) in nude mice reported that the addition of CQ potentiated the effects of adriamycin and cyclophosphamide treatment by significantly reducing primary tumor size and multiplicity of lung metastases ().

Chloroquine and its analogs have also shown promise in situations of acquired therapeutic resistance, a frequent challenge faced in TNBC treatment (). Compared with the parental MDA-MB-231 cell line, anthracycline-resistant MDA-MB-231 cells showed heightened levels of basal autophagy (), prompting to test whether the use of autophagy inhibition could improve outcomes in cases of therapy resistance. Indeed, combination treatment with epirubicin and HCQ increased therapeutic efficacy by significantly reducing PDX tumor growth compared with saline controls and epirubicin alone (). CQ in combination with carboplatin also reduced tumor growth in carboplatin-resistant TNBC orthotopic xenografts, potentially through depletion of cancer stem cells ().

Additional Considerations of Autophagy Modulation

Several autophagy inhibitors are available, and their mechanisms, and potential for modulation of pathways other than autophagy, are distinct. In addition to its ability to prevent completion of the autophagic process, CQ has been implicated in tumor vessel normalization (), suppression of macrophage endocytosis to improve nanoparticle delivery (), and increased sensitivity to cisplatin in breast cancer cells (), each of which were shown to occur via mechanisms independent of autophagy suppression. With this in mind, based on promising preclinical data, there are a growing number of clinical trials investigating the potential for use of CQ as adjuvant therapy, including a Phase II trial testing the efficacy and safety of CQ in combination with taxane or taxane-like chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment of advanced or metastatic BC who were non-responders to AC therapy (ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT01446016).

Perhaps in the context of chemotherapeutic resistance, an approach combining cancer therapies with interventions that increase dependence on autophagy (e.g., through manipulation of dietary energy intake or pharmacologic interventions such as MRIs or growth factor inhibition) will expose a metabolic weakness that could be exploited with autophagy inhibitors. Indeed, the results of showed that conditions of CR in combination with genetic autophagy ablation in a Ras-driven model of pancreatic cancer had greater effects on decreasing tumor volume and progression than either condition in isolation. The effect of chemotherapy under these conditions was not explored. Combining autophagy induction and inhibition increased radiosensitivity of colorectal cancer cells in culture (). However, a phase 1 trial combining the Akt inhibitor MK-2206 with hydroxychloroquine in patients with advanced solid tumors resulted in a substantial number of drug-related adverse events and minimal evidence of antitumor activity (). Interestingly, use of these drugs in combination altered the pharmacokinetics of both drugs (), which may have impacted toxicity. Perhaps in combination the dosages of these drugs should be reduced, or hydroxychloroquine should be tested in combination with other autophagy inducers.

Notably, some have reported that cancer cell autophagy is required for immunogenic cell death yet dispensable for chemotherapy-induced cell death (). demonstrated increased chemotherapeutic efficacy following nutrient deprivation in an autophagy-independent manner. These findings argue for caution regarding the use of autophagy inhibitors in the absence of chemotherapeutic resistance, as an inhibition of primary tumor growth may be concomitant with impairment of anti-tumor immunosurveillance and an elevated risk of recurrence. Longitudinal resection studies in mice addressing the potential for recurrence following autophagy inhibition during treatment may be helpful in untangling this research question.

Conclusion

In sum, cancer cells often exhibit an increased dependence on autophagy, both for baseline survival and as a response to stressors such as chemotherapy or a decline in nutrient availability. Numerous hormonal and metabolic cues direct autophagic induction in cancer. There is evidence to suggest that the increased dependence on autophagy in cancer cells may be exploitable clinically by combining autophagy modulators with existing chemotherapies. Fasting appears to hold promise for reducing dose-limiting side effects of chemotherapy in humans. However, it remains unclear whether therapeutic agents aimed at autophagy induction, autophagy inhibition, or both are a viable therapeutic strategy for improving cancer outcomes. In light of the burgeoning interest in precision medicine, identification of oncogenic drivers associated with increased susceptibility to fasting, autophagy induction or inhibition may hold clinical promise.

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Author contributions

AC contributed to concept development, writing, preparation, figure design, and submission of this article. MC contributed to concept development, writing, preparation, and figure design. JP, AP, and SE contributed to concept development and writing. SH contributed to concept development, writing, preparation, figure design, and submission of this article. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (R35CA197627) and funding through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF-19-073) to SH. SE received funding through the UNC Office for Undergraduate Research as a Summer Undergraduate Fellowship.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

Summary

Keywords

cancer, autophagy, fasting, metabolism, caloric restriction, cancer therapy

Citation

Cozzo AJ, Coleman MF, Pearce JB, Pfeil AJ, Etigunta SK and Hursting SD (2020) Dietary Energy Modulation and Autophagy: Exploiting Metabolic Vulnerabilities to Starve Cancer. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 8:590192. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2020.590192

Received

31 July 2020

Accepted

14 October 2020

Published

05 November 2020

Volume

8 - 2020

Edited by

Paul J. Higgins, Albany Medical College, United States

Reviewed by

Dileep Kumar, The University of Utah, United States; Paola Maycotte, National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), Mexico

Updates

Copyright

*Correspondence: Stephen D. Hursting,

This article was submitted to Molecular and Cellular Oncology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

Disclaimer

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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