Mechanical stress meets autophagy: potential implications for physiology and pathology

• Published in: Trends in molecular medicine 2012-10, Vol.18 (10), p.583-588
• Main Author: King, Jason S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Physiological; Animals; Autophagy; Bone and Bones - chemistry; Heart - physiopathology; Homeostasis; Humans; mechanical stress; mechanotransduction; Models, Animal; Muscle, Skeletal - chemistry; Pathology; Signal Transduction; Stress, Mechanical; Stress, Physiological
• ISSN: 1471-4914; 1471-499X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2012.08.002

Changes in the mechanical environment are a universal challenge for cells, and mechanical cues regulate tissue structure and cell physiology throughout life. Autophagy is an important degradative pathway, fulfilling a wide range of roles in survival, homeostasis and adaptation. The two are connected, and in vitro , autophagy is rapidly induced in cells exposed to mechanical compression. In vivo , autophagy is also induced in several medically relevant circumstances that are also under mechanical stress such as bone and muscle homeostasis and tissue injury. The induction of autophagy has wide-ranging effects on cells. In this article, I propose that the autophagic response to mechanical stress is an important factor in a wide range of both physiological and pathological settings.