脂肪组织中自噬信号通路及其功能

Physiological Functions of the Autophagy Signaling Pathway in Adipose Tissues

细胞自噬是一种真核生物中高度保守的代谢过程,包括巨自噬、微自噬以及分子伴侣介导的自噬等。自噬过程可以清除受损的细胞器,降解糖原、脂类和蛋白质等生物大分子物质,供细胞重新利用,维持细胞内代谢平衡。自噬障碍与多种疾病的病理发生过程息息相关,包括肿瘤、2型糖尿病、肥胖、骨骼肌病以及神经退行性疾病等。脂肪组织是人体脂质储存的重要场所,广泛分布于全身各处,如内脏和皮下等。脂肪组织通过储存冗余脂肪并分泌脂肪因子,防止脂肪的异位堆积和脂毒性的发生,维持机体的脂质稳态。近期的许多研究表明,自噬进程深度参与脂肪细胞的细胞分化与能量代谢。因此,深入探究脂肪组织自噬过程与机体脂质稳态的调控关系,有利于揭示机体脂质平衡的内在机制,为新型药物靶点的开发提供扎实的理论依据和数据支持。本文就近年来关于自噬影响脂肪组织脂质代谢的最新研究进展作一综述。

Autophagy is a highly conserved metabolic process in eukaryotes, including macroautophagy, microautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy. This process removes damaged organelles and degrades biomacromolecules to maintain intracellular metabolic homeostasis. It has been well established that disruption of autophagy is associated with multiple metabolic diseases, such as cancer, type 2- diabetes, obesity, skeletal myopathy and neurodegeneration. On the other hand, The adipose tissue is widely distributed in various organs, such as viscera and subcutaneous stratum. It plays a critical role in maintaining whole body energy homeostasis by preventing ectopic lipid deposition and lipotoxicity through lipid storage and adipokine secretion capacities. Recently, some researchers found that autophagy is deeply involved in adipocyte differentiation and energy metabolism. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of these two processes will provide promising strategies and candidates for the further drug development. Here, we reviewe recent advances in autophagy, which drives the lipid homeostasis in adipose tissues.