Identification of a serine-threonine kinase as a novel autophagic regulator

Phospholipid dependent Serine/Threonine kinases are shown to be involved in cellular mechanisms and disease related pathways. Upon different intracellular stimuli, these kinases are activated and functions. Several chemical analogues such as Phorbol 12-Mystrate 13-Acetate (PMA) and Ceramide were synthesized to mimic intracellular stimuli to study function of these kinases. For several of these kinases, activation is dependent on both PMA and a Calcium ionophore such as ionomycin. Strikingly, deregulation of these kinases has been identified in several cancers. Recent studies showed that autophagy, which evolutionary conserved cellular degradation mechanism to maintain homeostasis, is also involved in carcinogenesis. According to literature, there are no robust studies to show the interaction between autophagy and serine threonine kinases. Thus, in our study we focused to identify a novel Ser/Thr kinases involved in regulation of autophagy in cancer.