Mechanism and medical implications of mammalian autophagy

I Dikic, Z Elazar - Nature reviews Molecular cell biology, 2018 - nature.com
Nature reviews Molecular cell biology, 2018nature.com
Autophagy is a highly conserved catabolic process induced under various conditions of
cellular stress, which prevents cell damage and promotes survival in the event of energy or
nutrient shortage and responds to various cytotoxic insults. Thus, autophagy has primarily
cytoprotective functions and needs to be tightly regulated to respond correctly to the different
stimuli that cells experience, thereby conferring adaptation to the ever-changing
environment. It is now apparent that autophagy is deregulated in the context of various …
Abstract
Autophagy is a highly conserved catabolic process induced under various conditions of cellular stress, which prevents cell damage and promotes survival in the event of energy or nutrient shortage and responds to various cytotoxic insults. Thus, autophagy has primarily cytoprotective functions and needs to be tightly regulated to respond correctly to the different stimuli that cells experience, thereby conferring adaptation to the ever-changing environment. It is now apparent that autophagy is deregulated in the context of various human pathologies, including cancer and neurodegeneration, and its modulation has considerable potential as a therapeutic approach.
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