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. 2022 Jul 22;11(15):2262. doi: 10.3390/cells11152262

Table 1.

Autophagy physiological functions, main characteristics.

Physiological Functions of Autophagy Description References
Energy Production Autophagy can contribute to the mobilization of diverse energy molecular storages, regulating glucose metabolism, mobilization of neutral lipids, or is responsible for intracellular protein breakdown. [5,6,7]
Intracellular Maintenance Autophagy can contribute to the quality control and replacement of cellular components. [8,9,10]
Signaling Autophagy could, in some cases, distinguish its cargos, leaving the other cellular components unaffected because they are labeled with poly-Ub chains for degradation, a level of regulation associated with signaling. [11,12,13]
Development and Differentiation Autophagy can drive the rapid response of cells necessary for the development and play an indispensable role in differentiation. It provides the cells with the energy needed for differentiation and participates in tissue remodeling. [14,15,16]