AUTHOR=Vomero Marta , Barbati Cristiana , Colasanti Tania , Perricone Carlo , Novelli Lucia , Ceccarelli Fulvia , Spinelli Francesca Romana , Di Franco Manuela , Conti Fabrizio , Valesini Guido , Alessandri Cristiano TITLE=Autophagy and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Current Knowledges and Future Perspectives JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=9 YEAR=2018 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01577 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2018.01577 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=

Autophagy is a degradation mechanism by which cells recycle cytoplasmic components to generate energy. By influencing lymphocyte development, survival, and proliferation, autophagy regulates the immune responses against self and non-self antigens. Deregulation of autophagic pathway has recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Indeed, autophagy seems to be involved in the generation of citrullinated peptides, and also in apoptosis resistance in RA. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the role of autophagy in RA and discuss the possibility of a clinical application of autophagy modulation in this disease.