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Transcriptional regulation of autophagy and its implications in human disease

Cell Death & Differentiation volume 30, pages 1416–1429 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Macroautophagy/autophagy is a conserved catabolic pathway that is vital for maintaining cell homeostasis and promoting cell survival under stressful conditions. Dysregulation of autophagy is associated with a variety of human diseases, such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and metabolic disorders. Therefore, this pathway must be precisely regulated at multiple levels, involving epigenetic, transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, and post-translational mechanisms, to prevent inappropriate autophagy activity. In this review, we focus on autophagy regulation at the transcriptional level, summarizing the transcription factors that control autophagy gene expression in both yeast and mammalian cells. Because the expression and/or subcellular localization of some autophagy transcription factors are altered in certain diseases, we also discuss how changes in transcriptional regulation of autophagy are associated with human pathophysiologies.

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Fig. 1: Autophagy in mammalian cells and the essential protein complexes.
Fig. 2: Autophagy regulation at different levels.
Fig. 3: Transcriptional regulation of autophagy in yeast.
Fig. 4: The regulation of autophagy in mammalian cells through TFEB, ZKSCAN3 and FOXO proteins.
Fig. 5: Transcription regulation of autophagy in mammalian cells.

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This work was supported by NIH grant GM131919.

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  1. Life Sciences Institute and Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Yuchen Lei & Daniel J. Klionsky

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Lei, Y., Klionsky, D.J. Transcriptional regulation of autophagy and its implications in human disease. Cell Death Differ 30, 1416–1429 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41418-023-01162-9

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