The Mechanisms of Action and Clinical Application Progress of Autophagy Activators
10.13471/j.cnki.j.sun.yat-sen.univ（med.sci）.2025.0302
- VernacularTitle:自噬激活剂的作用机制与临床应用进展
- Author:
Yu HOU
1
;
Yingpeng ZHAO
1
Author Information
1. Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery， Ganmei Hospital， Kunming Medical University， Kunming 650000， China
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords:
autophagy;
autophagy activators;
signaling pathways;
cellular homeostasis;
clinical application
- From:
Journal of Sun Yat-sen University(Medical Sciences)
2025;46(3):371-383
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Autophagy is a highly conserved cellular self-regulatory mechanism， which primarily occurs in the lysosomes or vacuoles of mammalian and yeast cells and plays a critical role in maintaining cellular homeostasis and metabolic balance. When cells encounter stress conditions like nutrient deprivation， physical or chemical stimuli， infections， and oxidative stress， or when damaged or aging organelles accumulate in the cytoplasm， the autophagic process is activated. This process degrades and recycles damaged proteins and organelles， removes potentially harmful substances， in which the degradation products are used for energy supply and macromolecule resynthesis， thereby help maintain the cellular homeostasis. Autophagy activators are compounds or drugs that can promote the cellular self-clearance process （such as mTOR inhibitors， AMPK activators， SIRT1 activators， lysosome enhancers， etc.）. They enhance autophagy activity by acting on autophagy-related signaling pathways or proteins， thereby regulating cellular and metabolic processes， and consequently exerting an impact on the organism. With the deepening of research， more and more small molecule compounds with autophagic activity have been discovered. As autophagy activators， these small molecule compounds have shown great application potential in the treatment of malignant tumors， nervous system diseases， metabolic diseases， etc. Some related drugs have even entered the clinical trial stage and achieved good efficacy. This article discusses the mechanisms of various types of autophagy activators and their potential applications in diseases， aiming to provide a reference for the further development and application of autophagy activators in diseases.
