From mechanical force to cellular response: the role of autophagy in orthodontic tooth movement

Orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) is a process responding to orthodontic forces, which converts mechanical stresses into biochemical events to reconstruct the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone. As a lysosome-dependent catabolic process induced by various cellular stress conditions, autophagy maintains the homeostasis of cells, tissues, and organs and is widely involved in different physiologic or pathologic processes in the tooth. Recently, accumulating studies have investigated the role of autophagy in OTM. In this review, we focus on the autophagy induced by orthodontic forces, discuss the multifaceted effects of autophagy in bone remodeling, inflammation, and complications in OTM, which may reveal the potential clinical implications of autophagy in OTM and provide potential therapeutic targets for future orthodontic clinical treatment.