title: Self-eating: friend or foe? The emerging role of autophagy in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
abstract: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is the most common and severe form of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias. Despite an exponential increase in our understanding of potentially important mediators and mechanisms, the pathogenesis remains elusive, and little therapeutic progress has been made in the last few years. Mortality in 3-5 years is still 50%. Autophagy, a highly conserved homeostatic mechanism necessary for cell survival, has been recently implicated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary disorders. In this paper we aim to highlight some key issues regarding the process of autophagy and its possible association with the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
authors.affiliation: Interstitial Lung Disease Unit, University Hospital of Heraklion, 71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece. gmargaritop@yahoo.gr
authors.forename: George A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Margaritopoulos
authors.forename: Eliza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tsitoura
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tzanakis
authors.forename: Demetrios A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Spandidos
authors.forename: Nikos M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Siafakas
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sourvinos
authors.forename: Katerina M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Antoniou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D006801:Humans; D054990:Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000473:pathology*