Aberrant function of cell cycle regulators results in uncontrolled cell proliferation, making them attractive therapeutic targets in cancer treatment. Indeed, survival of many cancers exclusively relies on these proteins, and several specific inhibitors are in clinical use. Although the ubiquitin-proteasome system is responsible for the periodic quality control of cell cycle proteins during cell cycle progression, increasing evidence clearly demonstrates the intimate interaction between cell cycle regulation and selective autophagy, important homeostasis maintenance machinery. However, these studies have often led to divergent rather than unifying explanations due to complexity of the autophagy signaling network, the inconsistent functions between general autophagy and selective autophagy, and the different characteristics of autophagic substrates. In this review, we highlight current data illustrating the contradictory and important role of cell cycle proteins in regulating autophagy. We also focus on how selective autophagy acts as a central mechanism to maintain orderly DNA repair and genome integrity by degrading specific cell cycle proteins, regulating cell division, and promoting DNA damage repair. We further discuss the ways in which selective autophagy may impact the cell cycle regulators, since failure to appropriately remove these can interfere with cell death-related processes, including senescence and autophagy-related cell death. Imbalanced cell proliferation is typically utilized by cancer cells to acquire resistance. Finally, we discuss the possibility of a potent anticancer therapeutic strategy that targets selective autophagy or autophagy and cell cycle together.

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Cassia bark or cortex cinnamomi, the dried stem bark of Cinnamomum cassia Presl. (Lauraceae), is a popular natural spice and a commonly used herb in traditional Chinese medicine. However, adulterants are frequently found in the market. In this study, 44 samples of Cassia bark including bark from seven related Cinnamomum species were collected from fields and market. Four characteristic components, cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid, cinnamyl alcohol, and coumarin were determined by RP-HPLC, and a fingerprint comprised of five markers was established. These results showed that cassia barks contained high contents of cinnamaldehyde (13.01-56.93 mg/g). The highest content of cinnamaldehyde (up to 93.83 mg/g) was found in debarked cortex, which is traditionally regarded as having the best quality in local herb shops. In contrast, the adulterants from the other Cinnamomum species, C. wilsonii Camble, C. japonicum Sieb., C. mairei Levl. and C. burmanii (Nees) Blume, contained low contents of cinnamaldehyde (<2.00 mg/g). The content of cinnamaldehyde in C. loureirii Nees was comparable to that in C. cassia. It is suggested that five characteristic peaks by HPLC are suitable for distinguishing genuine cassia bark from the adulterants and could be applied in the quality control of this commodity.