10.3390/cancers13061239 The Role of Autophagy and lncRNAs in the Maintenance of Cancer Stem Cells http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0235-8447 Jahangiri Leila Dr. Department of Life Sciences, Birmingham City University, Birmingham B15 3TN, UK Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK leila.jahangiri@bcu.ac.uk Ishola Tala Dr. Department of Life Sciences, Birmingham City University, Birmingham B15 3TN, UK tala.ishola@bcu.ac.uk Pucci Perla Dr. Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK pp504@cam.ac.uk Trigg Ricky M. Dr. Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK Department of Functional Genomics, GlaxoSmithKline, Stevenage SG1 2NY, UK ricky.m.trigg@gsk.com http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5587-7593 Pereira Joao Dr. Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA jtavaresdasilvapereira@mgh.harvard.edu http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0357-5454 Williams John A. Dr. Institute of Translational Medicine, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham B15 2TH, UK Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2SY, UK j.a.williams@bham.ac.uk Cavanagh Megan L. Dr. Department of Life Sciences, Birmingham City University, Birmingham B15 3TN, UK megan.cavanagh@mail.bcu.ac.uk Gkoutos Georgios V. Dr. Institute of Translational Medicine, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham B15 2TH, UK Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2SY, UK Mammalian Genetics Unit, Medical Research Council Harwell Institute, Oxfordshire OX110RD, UK MRC Health Data Research Midlands, University of Birmingham B15 2TT, UK NIHR Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK NIHR Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK g.gkoutos@bham.ac.uk http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4740-3099 Tsaprouni Loukia Dr. Department of Life Sciences, Birmingham City University, Birmingham B15 3TN, UK loukia.tsaprouni@bcu.ac.uk http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8439-4507 Turner Suzanne D. Dr. Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK CEITEC, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic sdt36@cam.ac.uk 11 03 2021 13 6 08 03 2021 e1239 Cancer stem cells (CSCs) possess properties such as self-renewal, resistance to apoptotic cues, quiescence, and DNA-damage repair capacity. Moreover, CSCs strongly influence the tumour microenvironment (TME) and may account for cancer progression, recurrence, and relapse. CSCs represent a distinct subpopulation in tumours and the detection, characterisation, and understanding of the regulatory landscape and cellular processes that govern their maintenance may pave the way to improving prognosis, selective targeted therapy, and therapy outcomes. In this review, we have discussed the characteristics of CSCs identified in various cancer types and the role of autophagy and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in maintaining the homeostasis of CSCs. Further, we have discussed methods to detect CSCs and strategies for treatment and relapse, taking into account the requirement to inhibit CSC growth and survival within the complex backdrop of cellular processes, microenvironmental interactions, and regulatory networks associated with cancer. Finally, we critique the computationally reinforced triangle of factors inclusive of CSC properties, the process of autophagy, and lncRNA and their associated networks with respect to hypoxia, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and signalling pathways. © 1996-2021 MDPI (Basel, Switzerland) 2021 This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited cancer stem cells (CSCs) tumour microenvironment solid cancers haematological malignancies autophagy LncRNAs Cancers Cancers (Basel) 2072-6694 MDPI