Autophagy Role as a Double-Edged Sword in Anesthesiology and Critical Care

Autophagy is a conserved lysosomal degradation pathway that breaks down cytoplasmic components and is essential for host cellular immune response. The activity of autophagy at a basic rate is crucial for homeostasis. Autophagy has emerged in recent years as a major mechanism in many neurodegenerative diseases. The regulation of microbial infections and inflammatory responses can be significantly influenced by autophagic modulators. In this study, we explain the autophagy role as a double-edged sword in anesthesiology and critical care. Future studies should focus on investigating the molecular mechanism of interplay between pathogen-host-autophagy and on studying whether autophagy inducers/inhibitors can exert suitable modulatory immunomodulatory effects. Potential organ protection through autophagy pathways might be an advantage in patients undergoing anesthesia and/or needing critical care.