内皮细胞自噬在糖尿病血管病变中的作用

The role of autophagy of endothelial cells in diabetic vascular diseases

自噬作为真核细胞的一种自我保护反应，具有重要的生理功能。关于糖尿病血管病变时自噬变化及自噬在血管内皮细胞损伤中的保护作用还知之甚少，但已有研究显示，糖尿病时内皮细胞的自噬是一种存活机制，通过自噬可以保护细胞免受不适应的刺激，尤其是在高糖、高胰岛素血症、高脂血症、氧化应激以及炎性反应等情况下。但是过度自噬能破坏内皮细胞，导致细胞自噬性死亡。因此，全面深入的研究内皮细胞自噬在不同条件刺激下的特点和机制，可为糖尿病及血管并发症提供新的防治策略。

Autophagy, a self-protecting response of eukaryotic cells, has important physiological functions. There is few research about autophagy during the course of diabetic vasculopathy and the protec- tive effect of autophagy on vascular endothelial cell injury. It has been indicated that the basis of autophagy in endothelial cell is a survival mechanism in diabetes, while autophagy can protect cells from excessive stimula- tion, especially in the case of high glucose, hyperinsulinemia, hyperlipidemia, oxidative stress and inflam- mation. However, excessive autophagy can damage endothelial cells, leading to autophagic death of cells. Therefore, a comprehensive study of the characteristics and mechanisms of autophagy in endothelial cells un- der different conditions might provide novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of diabetes and its vascular complications.