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=Volume 9 - 2018

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 been recently implicated in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases, including Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Autophagy indeed, seems to be involved in the generation of citrullinated peptides, and also in apoptosis resistance in RA. In this review, we summarize the current knowledges on the role of autophagy in RA and we discuss the possibility of a clinical implication of autophagy modulation in this disease.