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Review
. 2019 Feb 9;8(2):138.
doi: 10.3390/cells8020138.

Modulation of Autophagy for Controlling Immunity

Young Jin Jang  1 , Jae Hwan Kim  2 , Sanguine Byun  3
Affiliations
Review

Modulation of Autophagy for Controlling Immunity

Young Jin Jang et al. Cells. .

Abstract

Autophagy is an essential process that maintains physiological homeostasis by promoting the transfer of cytoplasmic constituents to autophagolysosomes for degradation. In immune cells, the autophagy pathway plays an additional role in facilitating proper immunological functions. Specifically, the autophagy pathway can participate in controlling key steps in innate and adaptive immunity. Accordingly, alterations in autophagy have been linked to inflammatory diseases and defective immune responses against pathogens. In this review, we discuss the various roles of autophagy signaling in coordinating immune responses and how these activities are connected to pathological conditions. We highlight the therapeutic potential of autophagy modulators that can impact immune responses and the mechanisms of action responsible.

Keywords: adaptive immunity; autophagy; innate immunity; modulators.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Compounds targeting the autophagy pathway for immuno-modulation. Akt, Protein Kinase B; SIRT, Sirtuins; TRAF, TNF Receptor Associated Factors; Atg, Autophagy related gene; FIP200, Family interacting protein of 200 kD; Ambra1, Activating molecule in Beclin 1-regulated autophagy; STAT3, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3; Bcl-2, B-cell lymphoma 2.
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