title: Why should autophagic flux be assessed?
abstract: As autophagy is involved in cell growth, survival, development and death, impaired autophagic flux has been linked to a variety of human pathophysiological processes, including neurodegeneration, cancer, myopathy, cardiovascular and immune-mediated disorders. There is a growing need to identify and quantify the status of autophagic flux in different pathological conditions. Given that autophagy is a highly dynamic and complex process that is regulated at multiple steps, it is often assessed accurately. This perspective review article will focus on the autophagic flux defects in different human disorders and update the current methods of monitoring autophagic flux. This knowledge is essential for developing autophagy-related therapeutics for treating the diseases.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-jie
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Kai-xing
authors.initials: KX
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Wei-dong
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Le
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007154:Immune System Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology