Autophagy: Can it become a potential therapeutic target?

Autophagy is a cellular lysosomal degradation pathway involved in proteins and organelles recycling for promoting cell survival, development and homeostasis. It is a multistep process and genetic studies have identified many proteins that participate in autophagosome formation and fusion with lysosomes, and various signaling factors that associate with the regulation of autophagy. In general, autophagy acts as a cell protector and its dysfunction is correlated with diverse pathologies, such as neurodegeneration, liver, heart and muscle diseases, cancer, inflammation and ageing. However, its role in cell death increases the complexity of the autophagic degradation system. A broad understanding of autophagy, ranging from detailed processes, including induction, formation and degradation, to function in physiology and pathology, revealed by accumulating studies, may be helpful for formulating therapeutic strategies for autophagy-associated human diseases.