Autophagy as a potential therapeutic target in intervertebral disc degeneration

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved intracellular recirculation system that delivers cytoplasmic content to lysosomes for degradation, thereby maintaining metabolism and homeostasis. Recent studies have found that autophagy plays a dual role in intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Most studies have shown that inducing autophagy can slow down the process of IDD. A few studies have shown that extensive autophagy activation-mediated apoptosis accelerates IDD. In this review, we describe the pathophysiological characteristics of intervertebral disc (IVD), the mechanism of autophagy and the application of regulating autophagy in the treatment of IDD, hoping to provide a certain theoretical basis for the biotherapy of IDD.