Abstract
Autophagy actively participates in the physiological process of the liver. While the
direct effect of autophagy may be limited to the sequestration and degradation of
a selective cargo, its overall impact can be broad, affecting many more physiological
processes regulated by the particular cargo. This review will discuss two aspects
of the importance of autophagy in the liver: metabolic regulation in response to feeding
and starvation, and pathological consequences in the absence of autophagy. These two
aspects illustrate the homeostatic functions of autophagy in the liver, one in a more
direct fashion, regulating the cellular nutrient supply, and the other in a more indirect
fashion, controlling the pathological signaling triggered by the abnormal accumulation
of cargos. Remarkably, the hepatic pathology in autophagy-deficient livers does not
seem different from that presented in other chronic liver diseases. Autophagy deficiency
can be a model for the study of the relevant molecular mechanisms.
Keywords
autophagy - ductular reaction - HMGB1 - metabolism - tumorigenesis
