ABSTRACT
Atherosclerosis is a chronic vascular inflammatory disease caused by abnormal lipid metabolism.The formation of lipid-rich foam cells acts as the initial trigger for development of atherosclerotic lesions.Recent studies have shown that lipophagy,a form of selective autophagy,can selectively degrade lipid droplets stored intracellularly and promote cholesterol efflux through the autophagic lysosomal pathway.As a result,intracellular lipid accumulation is re-duced and foaming is inhibited,making lipophagy a potential new target for current anti-atherosclerosis therapy.This arti-cle reviews the crucial role and molecular mechanism of lipophagy in the link between lipid metabolism and atherosclero-sis.Its objective is to outline the regulatory mechanism of lipophagy and present fresh insights for the treatment of athero-sclerotic diseases.