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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Mar 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013 Nov 5;11(3):187–200. doi: 10.1038/nrgastro.2013.211

Figure 6. Autophagy failure in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.

Figure 6

Left: The failure of autophagy detectable in NAFLD could be the cause for the accumulation of lipids in this organ or a consequence, since although autophagy has an active role in the mobilization of intracellular lipids, abnormal increase in the lipid content has been shown to exert an inhibitory effect on autophagy. Defective autophagy and lipotoxicity may contribute to ER stress. Right: Activation of autophagy reduces steatosis in NAFLD by promoting lipid droplets (LD) mobilization and reducing ER stress.