[The roles of autophagy in cell survival and cell death].
Autophagy is a process in which the subcellular membrane structures undergo dynamic morphological changes that lead to degradation of cellular proteins and organelles by lysosomes. Autophagy stabilizes intracellular environment and maintains cell survival through balancing anabolic metabolism and catabolism. However, overactive autophagy may induce the type II programmed cell death. There is a close relationship between autophagy and apoptosis during cell death. This review focuses on the processes of autophagy and its roles in cell survival and cell death.
He
Tao
T
Department of Anatomy and Histology and Embryology, Shanghai Medical School of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
Wang
Hai-Jie
HJ
Tan
Yu-Zhen
YZ
D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy / Q000502:physiology*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans