Autophagy facilitates oncogene-induced senescence

Oncogenic stress triggers a range of intracellular protective responses including DNA damage checkpoints, senescence and apoptosis, depending on the cell type and the severity of the particular stress. Senescent cells are metabolically viable but are stably arrested. Senescence is a collective phenotype, however, that is comprised of various signaling pathways and effector mechanisms. Thus, to understand and manipulate the senescence phenotype, it is critical to find its effector mechanisms and determine the relationships between them. We have recently found that autophagy is activated upon acute induction of senescence and facilitates another effector mechanism: the senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP).