Autophagy: a sweet process in diabetes.
Autophagy is inhibited by the insulin-amino acid-mTOR signaling pathway. Two papers in this issue of Cell Metabolism (Ebato et al., 2008; Jung et al., 2008) provide evidence that basal autophagy is necessary to maintain the architecture and function of pancreatic beta cells and that its induction in diabetic mice protects beta cells against damage by oxidative stress.
Department of Medical Biochemistry, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. a.j.meijer@amc.uva.nl
Alfred J
AJ
Meijer
Patrice
P
Codogno
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy / Q000502:physiology*; D000071193:Autophagy-Related Protein 7; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
D000596:Amino Acids; C502661:Atg7 protein, mouse; D007328:Insulin; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D011494:Protein Kinases; C546843:mTOR protein, mouse; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D000071193:Autophagy-Related Protein 7