Autocrine Signalling

Autocrine Signalling describes cellular communication where cells produce and respond to their own secreted signalling molecules through surface receptors, creating self-stimulatory loops that can drive autonomous proliferation, survival, or differentiation independent of external regulatory signals. This mechanism plays roles in both normal development and pathological conditions.

The biopharmaceutical industry studies autocrine signalling in cancer biology and immunology, where dysregulated loops contribute to uncontrolled proliferation, therapy resistance, and immune dysfunction. Tumour cells exploiting EGFR, HER2, or cytokine autocrine loops create therapeutic vulnerabilities for receptor-blocking antibodies or kinase inhibitors. CAR-T cell engineering sometimes incorporates autocrine cytokine signalling improving persistence and anti-tumour activity. Understanding autocrine contributions to resistance mechanisms informs rational combination therapy strategies. Biomarker development identifies tumours dependent on specific autocrine pathways enabling patient stratification for targeted therapies exploiting these vulnerabilities.