Gajewska M, Sobolewska A, Kozlowski M, Motyl T
Department of Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland.
J Physiol Pharmacol. 2008 Dec;59 Suppl 9:237-49.
Autophagy is a highly conserved catabolic process responsible for degradation and recycling of long-lived proteins and organelles by lysosomes. This degradative pathway, together with proteasome system is particularly important during development and under certain environmental stress conditions. This review summarizes the latest achievements of studies aiming to explore the role of autophagy in development and differentiation of eukaryotic cells. It shows the importance of this process in the development of lower eukaryotic organisms such as Dicyostelium discoideum, and Caenorhabditis elegans, as well as functions of autophagy and autophagy related genes (Atg) in development and differentiation of higher eukaryotic organisms. The review is focused on the results of studies conducted on mammary gland, as it is a good model for studying the mechanisms controlling higher eukaryotic organisms' development. Studies have shown that autophagy is involved in the removal of epithelial cells during formation of alveolar structures, indicating its role in mammogenesis. There are also evidences of involvement of Atg's in epithelial tumors development. Context dependent manipulations of autophagic pathways may create more effective anticancer therapies in the future.
自噬是一种高度保守的分解代谢过程，负责通过溶酶体对长寿蛋白和细胞器进行降解和循环利用。这一降解途径与蛋白酶体系统一起，在发育过程以及某些环境应激条件下尤为重要。本综述总结了旨在探索自噬在真核细胞发育和分化中作用的研究的最新成果。它展示了这一过程在诸如盘基网柄菌和秀丽隐杆线虫等低等真核生物发育中的重要性，以及自噬和自噬相关基因（Atg）在高等真核生物发育和分化中的功能。该综述聚焦于对乳腺进行的研究结果，因为乳腺是研究控制高等真核生物发育机制的良好模型。研究表明，自噬参与肺泡结构形成过程中上皮细胞的清除，表明其在乳腺发生中的作用。也有证据表明Atg参与上皮肿瘤的发展。对自噬途径进行依背景而定的调控可能在未来创造出更有效的抗癌疗法。
