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AUTOPHAGY AND DRUG DISCOVERY
The word autophagy is derived from the Greek roots "auto"(self) and "phagy" (eating) and broadly refers to the cellular catabolic processes, in which cytoplasmic materials are transported to lysosomes for degradation.
Important progress has been achieved in the recent years in defining the role of autophagy in human diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases, metabolism disorders, immune-mediated diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, a number of drugs in the clinical trials against cancers, immune diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases affect or act through autophagy. It is conceivable that exploring the molecular mechanisms of autophagy opens an avenue for development of novel drugs to treat these devastating diseases.
In order to give a broad picture on recent progress in autophagy research and help deliver a deep insight into autophagy biology and the related disease, Acta Pharmacologica Sinica launched this special issue on "Autophagy and Drug Discovery". As the editors for this special edition, we invited several experts in China and abroad to contribute 13 articles, which cover the important aspects of basic and clinical research on autophagy and reflect on recent developments in this field.
Original Articles
Establishing a novel C. elegans model to investigate the role of autophagy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Jia Li, Kai-xing Huang and Wei-dong Le
Acta Pharmacologica Sinica advance online publication, 18 Mar 2013; doi:10.1038/aps.2012.190
Perspectives
Therapeutic induction of autophagy to modulate neurodegenerative disease progression
Warren E Hochfeld, Shirley Lee and David C Rubinsztein
Acta Pharmacologica Sinica advance online publication, 4 Feb 2013; doi:10.1038/aps.2012.189
Coordination of autophagy with other cellular activities
Yan Wang and Zheng-hong Qin
Acta Pharmacologica Sinica advance online publication, 11 Mar 2013; doi:10.1038/aps.2012.194
Reviews
Autophagy in ageing and ageing-associated diseases
Li-qiang He, Jia-hong Lu, and Zhen-yu Yue
Acta Pharmacologica Sinica advance online publication, 18 Feb 2013; doi:10.1038/aps.2012.188
Autophagy modulation as a target for anticancer drug discovery
Xin Li, Huai-long Xu, Yong-xi Liu, Na An, Si Zhao and Jin-ku Bao
Acta Pharmacologica Sinica advance online publication, 8 Apr 2013; doi:10.1038/aps.2013.23
Autophagy modulation as a potential therapeutic target for diverse diseases
David C. Rubinsztein, Patrice Codogno & Beth Levine
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 11: 709–730; doi:10.1038/nrd3802
Autophagy as a target for anticancer therapy
Filip Janku, David J. McConkey, David S. Hong & Razelle Kurzrock
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology 8: 528–539; doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2011.71
Potential therapeutic applications of autophagy
David C. Rubinsztein, Jason E. Gestwicki, Leon O. Murphy & Daniel J. Klionsky
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 6: 304–312; doi:10.1038/nrd2272
Autophagy: from basic science to clinical application
J Van Limbergen, C Stevens, ER Nimmo, DC Wilson & J Satsangi
Mucosal Immunology (2009) 2: 315–330; doi:10.1038/mi.2009.20
Unveiling the roles of autophagy in innate and adaptive immunity
Beth Levine & Vojo Deretic
Nature Reviews Immunology 7: 767–777; doi:10.1038/nri2161