Effects of mechanical factors on autophagy

BACKGROUND: Numerous diseases like cardiac hypertrophy and intervertebral disc degeneration are known to be implicated in the changes of mechanical stress acting on surrounding tissues or cells, and autophagy contributes to the pathogenesis of these diseases. OBJECTIVE: To review the effects of mechanical factors on autophagy in different tissues and the underlying molecular mechanisms, thereby providing references for the research of autophagy and the prevention and treatment of related diseases. METHODS: A search of Web of Science and PubMed databases was performed for the literatures addressing the effects of mechanical factors on autophagy using the English keywords of “autophagy, mechanical” and the articles were summarized systematically. Finally, 52 literatures were enrolled according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Mechanical factors make great effects on autophagy of various cells, such as myocardial cells, endothelial cells, chondrocytes and skeletal muscle cells. Autophagy is a self-protective reaction, and the mechanical stress of physiological conditions induces autophagy to maintain cell homeostasis, normal function and survival. The mechanism of autophagy induced by mechanical stress may involve PI3K-AKT-mTOR, oxygen free radical, AKT-FoxO and other pathways, and the definite mechanism needs to be further studied.