ABSTRACT
Autophagy is the cell biology process in which cytoplasmic components are degraded in lysosomes to maintain cellular homeostasis,it is involved in the pathophysiology of several kidney diseases (podocytopathies,IgA nephropathy,diabetic nephropathy,hereditary kidney disease),but its specific effect is still controversial.Most studies suggest that autophagy plays a protective role in kidney diseases,in the future,it may become a new target for the prevention and treatment of kidney disease.
ABSTRACT
Not only does autophagy play a vital role in maintaining kidney cell survival and homeostasis,but al-so it is involved in the pathophysiology of several kidney diseases. Recent studies have indicated that autophagy was ac-tivated in kidney cells during acute kidney injury and its regulatory mechanism was unclear. Autophagy activation in kidney may be associated with oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, hypoxia inducible factor-1α, p53 and Bcl-2 family. The role of autophagy in acute kidney injury is still controversial. Most believe that it plays a protective role during acute kidney injury. Therefore autophagy will become a novel and potential target for the prevention and treatment of acute kidney injury.