Role of autophagy in pancreatic injury in sepsis

Sepsis is a life-threatening systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) caused by the host's maladjustment response to infection, which eventually leads to septic shock and multiple organ failure. Pancreatic injury was found to be an important pathological change in sepsis. Autophagy is a crucial way to maintain the normal metabolism of cell substances and energy, which plays an important role in many diseases. Recent studies have found that autophagy plays a dual role in pancreatic injury in sepsis. Moderate autophagy can protect the pancreas and reduce the injury, while excessive autophagy can cause apoptosis-related autophagic cell death and aggravate the pancreatic injury. In sepsis, activated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) has a promoting effect on autophagy, and lysosome associated membrane protein (LAMP) degradation can result in impaired autophagy flux and aggravate pancreatic injury. The exploration of the mechanism of autophagy in pancreatic injury of sepsis will help to restore the normal autophagy function, so as to find a new target for the treatment of pancreatic injury of sepsis.