The multifaceted role of autophagy in skin autoimmune disorders: a guardian or culprit?

Front Immunol. 2024 Apr 16:15:1343987. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1343987. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Autophagy is a cellular process that functions to maintain intracellular homeostasis via the degradation and recycling of defective organelles or damaged proteins. This dynamic mechanism participates in various biological processes, such as the regulation of cellular differentiation, proliferation, survival, and the modulation of inflammation and immune responses. Recent evidence has demonstrated the involvement of polymorphisms in autophagy-related genes in various skin autoimmune diseases. In addition, autophagy, along with autophagy-related proteins, also contributes to homeostasis maintenance and immune regulation in the skin, which is associated with skin autoimmune disorders. This review aims to provide an overview of the multifaceted role of autophagy in skin autoimmune diseases and shed light on the potential of autophagy-targeting therapeutic strategies in dermatology.

Keywords: alopecia areata; atopic dermatitis; autophagy; psoriasis; skin autoimmune disorder; systemic lupus erythematosus; systemic sclerosis; vitiligo.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Autoimmune Diseases* / immunology
  • Autophagy* / immunology
  • Homeostasis / immunology
  • Humans
  • Skin / immunology
  • Skin / metabolism
  • Skin / pathology
  • Skin Diseases* / immunology

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 82173421) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (no. 23ZR1408600).