Autophagy in XXXX .

@entity1 @entity32 @entity1252 @entity29 @entity15 @entity792 @entity309
UNASSIGNED: Autophagy is a protective and life-sustaining process in which cytoplasmic components are packaged into double-membrane vesicles and targeted to lysosomes for degradation. This process of cellular self-digestion is an essential stress response and is cytoprotective by removing damaged organelles and proteins that threaten the cell's survival. Key outcomes include energy generation and recycling of metabolic precursors. In the immune system, autophagy regulates processes such as antigen uptake and presentation, removal of pathogens, survival of short- and long-lived immune cells, and cytokine-dependent @entity32 . In all cases, a window of optimal autophagic activity appears critical to balance catabolic, reparative, and @entity32 -inducing processes. Dysregulation of autophagosome formation and autophagic flux can have deleterious consequences, ranging from a failure to "clean house" to the induction of autophagy-induced cell death. Abnormalities in the autophagic pathway have been implicated in numerous @entity792 . Genome-wide association studies have linked polymorphisms in autophagy-related genes with predisposition for tissue-destructive inflammatory disease, specifically in @entity29 and @entity1252 . Although the precise mechanisms by which dysfunctional autophagy renders the host susceptible to @entity32 remain unclear, autophagy's role in regulating the long-term survival of adaptive immune cells has recently surfaced as a defect in @entity15 and @entity309 . Efforts are underway to identify autophagy-inducing and autophagy-suppressing pharmacologic interventions that can be added to immunosuppressive therapy to improve outcomes of @entity1 with @entity792 .
