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Autophagy fights disease through cellular self-digestion

Abstract

Autophagy, or cellular self-digestion, is a cellular pathway involved in protein and organelle degradation, with an astonishing number of connections to human disease and physiology. For example, autophagic dysfunction is associated with cancer, neurodegeneration, microbial infection and ageing. Paradoxically, although autophagy is primarily a protective process for the cell, it can also play a role in cell death. Understanding autophagy may ultimately allow scientists and clinicians to harness this process for the purpose of improving human health.

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Figure 1: Different types of autophagy.
Figure 2: A simplified model of autophagy regulation.
Figure 3: The role of autophagy in human disease.
Figure 4: Autophagy and ageing.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NCI, NIA, NIAID, NIGMS) the American Cancer Society, the Ellison Medical Foundation, Grants-in-Aid Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, and the Toray Science Foundation.

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Correspondence to Daniel J. Klionsky.

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Mizushima, N., Levine, B., Cuervo, A. et al. Autophagy fights disease through cellular self-digestion. Nature 451, 1069–1075 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06639

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