The efforts to establish the first dedicated Autophagy Research Center in the Middle East began in 2016, with international collaboration and guidance from Dr. Saeed Ghavami from the University of Manitoba, Canada, who also serves as an honorary professor at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.
As part of these efforts, a one-day Autophagy Symposium was held on August 29, 2018, in collaboration with the Department of Biochemistry, the Transplantation Research Center, and the Health Policy Research Center of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences at the School of Medicine, Shiraz. The event brought together approximately 200 participants from various fields of basic and clinical sciences. Experts shared and discussed their research findings in the field of autophagy.
During the symposium, researchers demonstrated that by regulating the interplay between autophagy and apoptosis, it is possible to take effective steps toward cancer treatment. For instance:
Dr. Negar Azarpira, a prominent professor at the Transplantation Research Center, discussed the relationship between autophagy and the biology of four groups of stem cells, including hematopoietic stem cells, neural stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and cancer stem cells, emphasizing that understanding autophagy mechanisms in these cells can significantly aid the development of anti-cancer drugs.
Dr. Saeed Ghavami shared his findings on the dual role of autophagy in cancer biology, noting that autophagy can both promote tumor growth and invasion in some cancer cells while sensitizing others to apoptosis-dependent chemotherapy. He also presented his extensive studies on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), suggesting that autophagy inhibition could serve as a novel therapeutic approach for NSCLC.
Dr. Marek J. Łos discussed his research on the molecular mechanism of salinomycin toxicity, which activates autophagy responses in cells. Despite preferential toxicity toward various cancer cells, including prostate and breast cancer, normal fibroblasts showed minimal toxicity. Their findings provided new insights into the molecular mechanism of salinomycin and suggested potential clinical applications in combination with autophagy inhibitors such as chloroquine.
Dr. Mojgan Djavaheri-Mergny addressed how autophagy regulates the balance between cell cycle arrest, survival, and death in cancer cells.
Ms. Sanaz Dastgheib, a PhD student in Clinical Biochemistry (jointly supervised by Dr. Makarem and Dr. Ghavami), presented her research on the molecular interplay between unfolded protein response, autophagy, and apoptosis, highlighting that autophagy plays a key role in maintaining cellular homeostasis under stress and can activate multiple cell death pathways during prolonged stress.
The symposium concluded with the inauguration and official establishment of the Autophagy Research Center in Shiraz.
The Autophagy Research Center received its preliminary approval from the Council for the Expansion of Medical Education of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education on November 3, 2019. Under the leadership of Dr. Pooneh Makarem, a faculty member at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, the center was officially established in 2020 and began its activities.
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