[Advances in the study of the relationship between autophagy and sepsis-induced lung injury]

Sepsis is one of the most common pathogenetic causes of acute lung injury (ALI), and at present there is still a lack of effective targeted techniques and methods for its prevention and treatment. Autophagy is a homeostatic mecha- nism common to all eukaryotic cells, including adaption to environment, defense against invasion of pathogens, and maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Autophagy is also involved in a variety of lung-related diseases. In septic lung injury, autophagy not only serves to dissipate dysfunctional organelles, but also inhibits the release of inflammatory cytokines. This review aims at eliciting the role of autophagy in sepsis-induced ALI and further exploring the potential targets of autophagy in inhibiting inflammation, in an effort to provide a new perspective for clinical treatment of sepsis-induced ALI.