FIGURE 2.

Overview of signaling pathways involved in the regulation of autophagy. (1) Growth factors and nutrients can induce PI3K, which activates AKT and subsequently mTORC1. Also, the activated AKT induce mTORC1 through TSC1/2 inhibition. (2) Growth factors inducethe Ras–Raf–MEK‐ERK1/2 signaling pathway. This pathway can directly induce autophagy. ERK complex can inhibit TSC1/2 complex, leading to activating mTORC1. (3) Under starvation and stress condition, Bcl2 is phosphorylated by JNK1 and thereby separated from Beclin1. Then, Beclin1 induces Vps34 complex formation, an important protein complex in the autophagy process. (4) P53 has different roles in autophagy. Under stress conditions, p53 nuclear localization promotes autophagy inducers such as DRAM and DAPK1. Nevertheless, cytoplasmic p53 leads to autophagy inhibition through Beclin1 and AMPK blocking.