Targeting autophagy with small-molecule modulators in immune-related diseases

Abstract

Autophagy, a highly conserved and multistep lysosomal degradation process, plays a pivotal role in maintaining cellular and physiological homeostasis. Of note, autophagy controls intracellular homeostasis and cell responses to stresses by regulating the self-renewal, maturation, and survival of immune cells. And dysregulation of autophagy in immune cells may contribute to the inflammatory disorders and defect in immune responses against invasive pathogens. Accumulating evidence have indicated that dysregulated autophagy participates in the pathology of immune-related diseases. Therefore, targeting autophagy might represent a promising therapeutic strategy for treatment of immune-related diseases. In this chapter, we focus on discussing the link between autophagy and pathogenesis of immune-related diseases, as well as the dysregulation of autophagy-related signaling pathways, in different diseases. Moreover, we highlight the therapeutic potential of currently used small-molecule modulators of autophagy for treatment of immune-related diseases and illustrate the mechanisms of these small-molecule modulators.