Autophagy as a modulator of cell death machinery

The balance between cell death and survival is a critical parameter in the regulation of cells and the maintenance of homeostasis in vivo. Three major mechanisms for cell death have been identified in mammalian cells: apoptosis (type I), autophagic cell death (type II), and necrosis (type III). These three mechanisms have been suggested to engage in cross talk with each other. Among them, autophagy was originally characterized as a cell survival mechanism for amino acid recycling during starvation. Whether autophagy functions primarily in cell survival or cell death is a critical question yet to be answered. Here, we present a comprehensive review of the cell death-related events that take place during autophagy and their underlying mechanisms in cancer and autoimmune disease development.