Autophagy in health and disease. 3. Involvement of autophagy in muscle atrophy.

Loss of muscle mass aggravates a variety of diseases, and understanding the molecular mechanisms that control muscle wasting is critical for developing new therapeutic approaches. Weakness is caused by loss of muscle proteins, and recent studies have underlined a major role for the autophagy-lysosome system in regulating muscle mass. Some key components of the autophagy machinery are transcriptionally upregulated during muscle wasting, and their induction precedes muscle loss. However, it is unclear whether autophagy is detrimental, causing atrophy, or beneficial, promoting survival during catabolic conditions. This review discusses recent findings on signaling pathways regulating autophagy.