AUTHOR=Hargarten Jessica C. , Williamson Peter R. 

TITLE=Epigenetic Regulation of Autophagy: A Path to the Control of Autoimmunity

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2018

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01864

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2018.01864

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=Autoimmune diseases are a significant cause of debilitation and mortality globally and are in need of cost-effective therapeutics.  Autophagy is a cellular pathway that facilitates immune modulation involved in both pathogen control as well as autoimmunity.  Regulation is multi-factorial and includes a number of epigenetic pathways which can involve modification of DNA-binding histones to induce autophagy-related mRNA synthesis or micro RNA and decapping-associated mRNA degradation which results in autophagy suppression.  Appreciation of epigenetic-based pathways involved in autophagy and autoimmunity may facilite application of a burgeoning group of epigenetic pharmaceuticals to these important diseases.