Research advances in the degradation of hepatic lipid droplets through the autophagy pathway
Autophagy is a highly conserved cellular degradation pathway that degrades lipid droplets through a process called"lipophagy".Lipophagy can selectively recognize lipid substances and degrade them,promoting β oxidation and thereby maintaining the balance of intracellular lipid metabolism.The liver regulates lipid droplet metabolism through lipophagy signaling pathways or key molecules,thereby alleviating hepatic steatosis and improving nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).This article reviews the latest advances in the degradation of hepatic lipid droplets through the three autophagic pathways of macroautophagy,molecular chaperone-mediated autophagy,and microautophagy.The major signaling pathways of AMPK/mTOR-ULK1,ATGL-SIRT1,FGF21-JMJD3,and Akt are involved in the regulation of the lipophagy process and help to maintain the homeostasis of lipid metabolism in the liver,so as to provide new ideas for clinical prevention and treatment of NAFLD.