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PMID: 23591407 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Review

Autophagy: a new target or an old strategy for the treatment of Crohn's disease?

Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology ·Vol. 10 ·No. 7 ·2013-07-00 ·Pages 395-401

Nys K, Agostinis P, Vermeire S

Abstract

In the past 5 years much progress has been made in understanding the molecular basis of Crohn's disease, a multifactorial chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. Data suggest that hampered autophagy--the major lysosomal pathway for recycling of cytoplasmic material--might contribute to an increased susceptibility to Crohn's disease. Consequently, intense investigations have started to evaluate the potential value of autophagy as a therapeutic target and as a highly needed diagnostic tool. Interestingly, as well as the promising introduction of direct autophagic modulators, several drugs already used in the treatment of Crohn's disease might exert at least part of their effect through the regulation of autophagy. However, whether this phenomenon contributes to or rather counteracts their therapeutic use, remains to be determined and might prove to be highly compound-specific. Here we review the complex and emerging role of autophagy modulation in the battle against Crohn's disease. Moreover, we discuss the potential benefits and deleterious effects of autophagic regulation by both new and clinically used drugs.

MeSH Terms
Autophagy/drug effects,physiology Azathioprine/pharmacology,therapeutic use Crohn Disease/drug therapy,physiopathology Curcumin/pharmacology,therapeutic use Disease Management Humans Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/antagonists & inhibitors
Chemicals
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha Curcumin Azathioprine
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Nys Kris
Translational Research in Gastrointestinal Disorders, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University of Leuven, Herestraat 49, Box 701, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Agostinis Patrizia
Vermeire Séverine
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Article Info
Journal
Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology
Abbr.
Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol
ISSN
1759-5053
DOI
10.1038/nrgastro.2013.66
Published
2013-07-00
Epub
2013-00-16
Pages
395-401
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
101500079
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1038/nrgastro.2013.66 View journal details
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