RESUMO
As an important exercise and energy metabolism organ of the human body, the normal maintenance of skeletal muscle mass is essential for the body to perform normal physiological functions. The autophagy-lysosome (AL) pathway is a physiological or pathological mechanism that is ubiquitous in normal and diseased cells. It plays a key role in the maintaining of protein balance, removing damaged organelles, and the stability of internal environment. The smooth progress of the autophagy process needs to go through multiple steps, which are completed under the coordinated action of multiple factors. Autophagy maintains the muscle homeostasis of a healthy body by removing cell components such as damaged myofibrils and isolated cytoplasmic proteins. Autophagy could also provide the initial energy required for cell proliferation, promote muscle regeneration and remodeling after injury. At the same time, autophagy disorder is also an important cause of age-related skeletal muscle atrophy. Autophagy could affect the response of skeletal muscle to exercise, and increasing the level of basic autophagy is beneficial to improve the adaptive response of skeletal muscle to exercise. This article summarizes the role and pathways of autophagy in the maintenance of skeletal muscle quality, in order to provide effective rehabilitation strategies for clinical prevention and treatment of muscle atrophy.