Figure 1.

Mechanism of action of antimalarial immunomodulation during autoimmunity. HCQ accumulates in lysosomes and inhibits the degradation of cargo derived externally (via endocytosis or phagocytosis) or internally (via the autophagy pathway) in autolysosomes by increasing the pH to prevent the activity of lysosomal enzymes. Inhibition of lysosomal activity can prevent MHC class II-mediated autoantigen presentation. Adapted from Schrezenmeier et al. [6]. Created with BioRender.com (accessed on 17 October 2022).