Autophagy in T‐cell differentiation, survival and memory
Liqing Wang, Jugal Kishore Das, Anil Kumar, Hao‐Yun Peng, Yijie Ren, Xiaofang Xiong, Jinming Yang, Jianxun Song
Abstract
Over the past decade, autophagy has emerged as a critical regulatory mechanism of the immune system through critically controlling various aspects of T cell biology and determining the fate of different T cell subsets. Autophagy maintains T cell development and survival by regulating the degradation of organelles and apoptotic proteins. The autophagic process also impacts the formation of memory T cells. Alteration of autophagy in T cells may lead to a variety of pathological conditions such as inflammation, autoimmune diseases and cancer. In this review, we discuss how autophagy impacts T cell differentiation, survival and memory, and its implication in immunotherapy for various diseases.