Transcriptional and Post-Transcriptional Regulation of Autophagy
Qiuqin Ma,
Shihui Long,
Zhending Gan,
Gianluca Tettamanti,
Kang Li,
Ling Tian
Affiliations
Qiuqin Ma
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Agro-animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Shihui Long
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Zhending Gan
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Agro-animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Gianluca Tettamanti
Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria, 21100 Varese, Italy
Kang Li
Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou 510642, China
Ling Tian
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Agro-animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Autophagy is a widely conserved process in eukaryotes that is involved in a series of physiological and pathological events, including development, immunity, neurodegenerative disease, and tumorigenesis. It is regulated by nutrient deprivation, energy stress, and other unfavorable conditions through multiple pathways. In general, autophagy is synergistically governed at the RNA and protein levels. The upstream transcription factors trigger or inhibit the expression of autophagy- or lysosome-related genes to facilitate or reduce autophagy. Moreover, a significant number of non-coding RNAs (microRNA, circRNA, and lncRNA) are reported to participate in autophagy regulation. Finally, post-transcriptional modifications, such as RNA methylation, play a key role in controlling autophagy occurrence. In this review, we summarize the progress on autophagy research regarding transcriptional regulation, which will provide the foundations and directions for future studies on this self-eating process.
