Journal of International Obstetrics and Gynecology ›› 2022, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (3): 241-245.doi: 10.12280/gjfckx.20211119

• Gynecological Diseases & Related Research:Review •     Next Articles

The Role and Mechanism of Autophagy in Endometriosis

LIU Ke-yi, LIU Heng-wei()   

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
  • Received:2021-12-07 Published:2022-06-15 Online:2022-06-23
  • Contact: LIU Heng-wei E-mail:hw.liu@whu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Endometriosis (EMs) is a common benign gynecologic disease in women of childbearing age, which is difficult to be cured and complicated. Until now, the exact pathogenesis of EMs is not well known. Autophagy is a dynamic regulatory process in which biomembrance encapsulates and transports damaged organelles and misfolded proteins into the lysosomes for degradation and recycling. Recently an increasing number of studies proved that autophagy plays a vital role in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of EMs. The expression level of autophagy in EMs is up-regulated or down-regulated, suggesting that autophagy plays a double-edged sword role in promoting or inhibiting the occurrence and development of EMs, but many key problems remain unsolved. This article reviews the latest progress in the mechanism of autophagy in the pathogenesis and treatment of EMs.

Key words: Endometriosis, Autophagy, Hypoxia, Beclin-1, Therapy