Meléndez Alicia, Neufeld Thomas P
Department of Biology, Queens College, Flushing, NY 11367, USA.
Development. 2008 Aug;135(14):2347-60. doi: 10.1242/dev.016105.
The cell biological phenomenon of autophagy (or ;self-eating') has attracted increasing attention in recent years. In this review, we first address the cell biological functions of autophagy, and then discuss recent insights into the role of autophagy in animal development, particularly in C. elegans, Drosophila and mouse. Work in these and other model systems has also provided evidence for the involvement of autophagy in disease processes, such as neurodegeneration, tumorigenesis, pathogenic infection and aging. Insights gained from investigating the functions of autophagy in normal development should increase our understanding of its roles in human disease and its potential as a target for therapeutic intervention.
自噬(即“自我吞噬”)这一细胞生物学现象近年来受到了越来越多的关注。在这篇综述中,我们首先阐述自噬的细胞生物学功能,然后讨论关于自噬在动物发育,特别是秀丽隐杆线虫、果蝇和小鼠发育中作用的最新见解。在这些以及其他模型系统中的研究也为自噬参与疾病过程提供了证据,如神经退行性变、肿瘤发生、病原体感染和衰老。通过研究自噬在正常发育中的功能所获得的见解,应能增进我们对其在人类疾病中的作用以及作为治疗干预靶点潜力的理解。