Autophagy and Bacterial Pathogenesis: An Interactive Overview

Autophagy is a cellular homeostasis-essential mechanism in which damaged organelles, protein aggregates, or pathogens are enclosed in double-membraned autophagosomes and are subsequently degraded by lysosomal enzymes. Autophagic control of bacterial replication promotes bacterial clearance during infection. However, several pathogenic bacteria have devised strategies to escape/inhibit autophagy, so as to enable their growth. This review discusses the role of autophagy in the pathogenesis of some intracellular bacteria: recent mechanisms by which bacteria are targeted by autophagy and also the strategies employed by bacteria to counter autophagy.