自噬是指胞浆内大分子物质和细胞器在膜包囊泡中大量降解的生物学过程,其具有独特的分子机制、形态改变和特有的调控通路,作为各种调控通路交汇点——mTOR复合体和Beclin1复合体发挥了至关重要的作用。对于人体而言,自噬具有维持细胞自我稳态,促进细胞生存的作用,然而,过度自噬则可以引起细胞死亡即"自噬性细胞死亡"。相关研究表明,自噬的这种特点与肿瘤的发生密切相关。对于肿瘤,自噬作用好似一把双刃剑,既促进其发生又抑制其形成。
Autophagy is a process of self-degradation of cellular components,in which double-membrane autophagosome sequester organelles or portions of cytosol and fuse with lysosomes for breakdown.It has the unique morphological changes and specific regulatory pathways.As the convergences of various pathways,mTOR complex and Beclin1 complex play a crucial role in the regulation of autophagy.On the one hand,autophagy maintains cell homeostasis by elimating damaged organelles,as well as removing misfolded or aggregated proteins.On the other hand,it also can result in cell death.A growing body of evidence indicates that autophagy is associated with a number of diseases,especially the cancer,and is the double-edged sword in the modulation of cancer.