title: The signaling involved in autophagy machinery in keratinocytes and therapeutic approaches for skin diseases.
abstract: Autophagy is responsible for the lysosomal degradation of proteins, organelles, microorganisms and exogenous particles. Epidermis primarily consists of keratinocytes which functions as an extremely important barrier. Investigation on autophagy in keratinocytes has been continuously renewing, but is not so systematic due to the complexity of the autophagy machinery. Here we reviewed recent studies on the autophagy in keratinocyte with a focus on interplay between autophagy machinery and keratinocytes biology, and novel autophagy regulators identified in keratinocytes. In this review, we discussed the roles of autophagy in apoptosis, differentiation, immune response, survival and melanin metabolism, trying to reveal the possible involvement of autophagy in skin aging, skin disorders and skin color formation. Since autophagy routinely plays a double-edged sword role in various conditions, its functions in skin homeostasis and potential application as a therapeutic target for skin diseases remains to be clarified. Furthermore, more investigations are needed on optimizing designed strategies to inhibit or enhance autophagy for clinical efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science & Peking Union Medical College, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Skin Diseases and STIs, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science & Peking Union Medical College, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Skin Diseases and STIs, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science & Peking Union Medical College, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Skin Diseases and STIs, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis; D001343:Autophagy; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002470:Cell Survival; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008543:Melanins / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism; D015595:Skin Aging; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D008543:Melanins
keywords: autophagy; autophagy-related gene; keratinocyte; skin; skin disease