Cellular autophagy (Autophagy)

Cellular autophagy is a fundamental, evolutionary conserved catabolic process through which cells degrade and recycle their own cytoplasm, damaged organelles, and long-lived proteins via the lysosomal machinery. This process is essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis, especially during periods of nutrient deprivation or metabolic stress, by providing an internal source of energy and building blocks. In clinical medicine, autophagy is considered a "double-edged sword"; while it acts as a tumor suppressor by preventing the accumulation of damaged components, it can also promote the survival of established cancer cells under chemotherapy-induced stress. Therapeutic strategies focus on either inducing autophagy to clear protein aggregates in neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s or inhibiting the pathway to sensitize tumors to treatment. Because autophagy is a complex multi-step pathway involving numerous proteins (such as the Atg family and mTOR), targeting it requires precise modulation to avoid disrupting essential physiological functions in healthy tissues.

Other names

MacroautophagyAutophagic pathwaySelf-eatingAutophagic fluxXenophagy

Drugs typically modulate this process by inhibiting the Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) to induce autophagy or by neutralizing lysosomal pH to inhibit autophagic flux.