Transcriptional regulation of autophagy in RAS-driven cancers

RAS-driven cancers exhibit variable dependency on autophagy for survival; however, it is not fully understood how. In this issue of the JCI, Cheong and colleagues demonstrate that RAS-dependent elevation of casein kinase 1 alpha (CK1 alpha) negatively regulates autophagy at the level of autophagy gene transcription. Moreover, combined inhibition of both CK1 alpha and autophagy reduced proliferation of RAS-driven tumors. The results of this study provide insight into the connection between mutant RAS and autophagy, and suggest targeting CK1 alpha as a potential therapeutic strategy to modulate autophagy in RAS-driven cancers.