The Autophagy-Dependent Signaling in Skeletal Muscle

Skeletal muscle provides a fundamental basis for human function, enabling locomotion and respiration. Autophagy occurs in all eukaryotic cells and is evolutionarily conserved from yeast to humans. The autophagy machinery is a critical pathway for cell homeostasis, but it has long been forgotten in skeletal muscle. Particular emphasis has been placed on the role played by atutophagic defects in disease pathogenesis, its involvement in atrophy, and the possible effects of exercise as a countermeasure. Recent studies have indicated the age-related defects of autophagy signaling in skeletal muscle, whereas the autophagic activation occurs in cancer cachectic muscle probably due to enhancing protein degradation. Endurance training possesses a positive effect for some disease model (ex. inclusion body myopathy) by activating autophagy system. This review provides a recent research advances dealing with autophagy-dependent signaling in various muscular adaptations.