At the Crossroads: Mechanisms of Apoptosis and Autophagy in Cell Life and Death

摘要

Apoptosis and autophagy are conserved processes that regulate cell survival anddeath under stress conditions. Apoptosis aims to remove cells from the bodywith minimal damage to surrounding tissues. Autophagy promotes removal ofdamaged organelles, protein aggregates, and cellular pathogens, stimulatingcell survival. The signaling pathways involved in the regulation of apoptosisand autophagy largely overlap, leading to both competition and unidirectionalinteraction, which is of particular interest in investigating them as potentialtargets for cancer, autoimmune, and neurodegenerative disease therapies. Thisreview analyzes the main pathways of molecular interactions between autophagyand apoptosis, which is necessary for understanding the mechanism maintainingthe balance between cell death and survival under unfavorable conditions.