AUTHOR=Peña-Oyarzún Daniel , San Martin Carla , Hernández-Cáceres María Paz , Lavandero Sergio , Morselli Eugenia , Budini Mauricio , Burgos Patricia V. , Criollo Alfredo TITLE=Autophagy in aging-related oral diseases JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2022.903836 DOI=10.3389/fendo.2022.903836 ISSN=1664-2392 ABSTRACT=

Autophagy is an intracellular degradation mechanism that allows recycling of organelles and macromolecules. Autophagic function increases metabolite availability modulating metabolic pathways, differentiation and cell survival. The oral environment is composed of several structures, including mineralized and soft tissues, which are formed by complex interactions between epithelial and mesenchymal cells. With aging, increased prevalence of oral diseases such as periodontitis, oral cancer and periapical lesions are observed in humans. These aging-related oral diseases are chronic conditions that alter the epithelial-mesenchymal homeostasis, disrupting the oral tissue architecture affecting the quality of life of the patients. Given that autophagy levels are reduced with age, the purpose of this review is to discuss the link between autophagy and age-related oral diseases.