Autophagy in urology

Autophagy is an evolutionary conserved physiological event. It regulates intracellular homeostasis through recycling of cellular organelles and long-lived proteins. Autophagy is rapidly activated under stress conditions such as starvation and growth factor deprivation and supplies necessary components for the survival of cells. Thus, autophagy plays a role as a pro-survival phenomenon under certain conditions. On the other hand in some cases, autophagy pathways are involved in a caspase-independent, non-apoptotic cell death program called “autophagic cell death”. Studies in the last decade revealed the involvement of autophagy in several physiological and pathological events, establishing it as a new and important field of research for both basic scientists and clinicians. In this chapter, the effects of autophagy and -related molecular events in the development, progress and treatment of the urinary system diseases will be discussed.