Fig. 3.

Schematic representation of effect of impaired autophagy in intestinal mucosa. Defects in the autophagy system result in breakdown of mucosal homeostasis of the intestine. This diagram shows the state of the intestinal epithelium, mucosal immune system and microbiota in the context of impaired autophagy. Defective autophagy results in decreased AMP (1) and mucin (2) production, increased barrier permeability (3), increased bacterial invasion and dissemination (4), impaired cytokine production (5), reduced antigen presentation (6) and reduced T and B cell survival and development (7). Disrupted autophagy can alter the composition of bacteria within the gut, trending towards increased levels of pro-inflammatory species and decreased levels of anti-inflammatory species, thus, resulting in dysbiosis (8). Autophagy is required for the proper function of the gut and prevention of an exaggerated pro-inflammatory response