Autophagy and Autoimmune Diseases

Alterations of autophagy contribute to the progression of various autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and systemic sclerosis (SSc). In patients with SLE, autophagy defects result in poor clearance of phagocytic fragments and excessive secretion of inflammatory factors. The disorder of autophagy in IBD patients is closely related to the regulation of inflammatory factors and the clearance of pathogenic pathogens of enteropathy. The increase of autophagy in synovioblasts of RA patients will promote RA-associated synovitis. The autophagy of fibroblasts in SSc patients is dysfunctional, leading to overactive wound healing. Understanding the role of autophagy in the pathogenesis may give us hints on the therapy of autoimmune diseases.