Editorial: The role of autophagy in infectious diseases, volume II

Hua Niu 14 niu_hua@126.com 15 16 17Autophagy is an intracellular catabolic process that sequesters and degrades cytosolic components to maintain 18 cellular homeostasis under stress conditions (Dikic and Elazar, 2018). Based on the mechanisms by which cellular Besides clearing intracellular pathogens, autophagy intersects with the immune system at various stages, shaping 32 both innate and adaptive responses. Alterations in autophagic pathways have been linked to inflammatory conditions, 33 including autoimmune disorders and neurodegenerative diseases (Deretic, 2021). By delivering pathogen-derived 34 antigens to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules for antigen presentation, autophagy participates in 35 the adaptive immune response (Schmid et al., 2007), while regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine production 36 contributes to modulate the inflammatory response (Deretic, 2021). Meanwhile, macroautophagy itself is a tightly 37 regulated process, primarily modulated by the kinase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which integrates 38 signals from various pathways. One well-studied regulatory pathway is the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase 39 (PI3K)/AKT cascade, which can be activated by ligand-receptor interactions at the cell membrane to modulate 40 autophagy (Glaviano et al., 2023).