Autophagy in the Pathogenesis of Disease

Beth Levine, Guido Kroemer

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

5863 Scopus citations

Abstract

Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation pathway that is essential for survival, differentiation, development, and homeostasis. Autophagy principally serves an adaptive role to protect organisms against diverse pathologies, including infections, cancer, neurodegeneration, aging, and heart disease. However, in certain experimental disease settings, the self-cannibalistic or, paradoxically, even the prosurvival functions of autophagy may be deleterious. This Review summarizes recent advances in understanding the physiological functions of autophagy and its possible roles in the causation and prevention of human diseases.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)27-42
Number of pages16
JournalCell
Volume132
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 11 2008

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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