Role of autophagy in the host response to microbial infection and potential for therapy.
There is compelling evidence demonstrating a key role for autophagy in host defense against microbial infections. Induction and regulation of autophagy involves complex pathways including signaling molecules that have widespread roles in cell biological functions. For example, inhibiting mTOR by rapamycin, the most widely used chemical approach to induce autophagy, can also result in immunosupression. Nevertheless, advances in our understanding of autophagy provide a new opportunity to modulate host cellular responses as a potential therapeutic strategy to combat microbial infections in humans.
Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. mario.fabri@uk-koeln.de
Mario
M
Fabri
Susan E
SE
Realegeno
Eun-Kyeong
EK
Jo
Robert L
RL
Modlin
D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D015398:Signal Transduction