Intermittent Fasting and Autophagy in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells: Towards Reprogramming the Tumor Microenvironment in Obese Patients

Identifier:  TFG:9025

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFG9025

Authors:  Subasic i López, Ariadna

Abstract:
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, with estrogen receptor-positive subtypes being the most frequent. In obesity, these tumors often develop an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. This study evaluated the effect of one, two, or three intermittent fasting cycles on macroautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) activation in MCF-7 cells. Fasting durations were 4 hours for macroautophagy and 16 hours for CMA. Western blot analysis showed a progressive increase in macroautophagy markers with more cycles, while CMA markers such as LAMP2A varied. These preliminary findings suggest that repeated fasting may enhance autophagy and modulate the tumor microenvironment.