ER-Phagy: A New Regulator of ER Homeostasis

Ming Yang; Shilu Luo; Xi Wang; Chenrui Li; Jinfei Yang; Xuejing Zhu; Li Xiao; Lin Sun

doi:10.3389/fcell.2021.684526

ER-Phagy: A New Regulator of ER Homeostasis

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Jul 9:9:684526. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.684526. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Ming Yang^{1

2}, Shilu Luo^{1

2}, Xi Wang³, Chenrui Li¹, Jinfei Yang¹, Xuejing Zhu¹, Li Xiao¹, Lin Sun^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nephrology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
² Hunan Key Laboratory of Kidney Disease and Blood Purification, Changsha, China.
³ Department of Nutrition, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.

Abstract

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is one of the most important cellular organelles and is essential for cell homeostasis. Upon external stimulation, ER stress induces the unfolded protein response (UPR) and ER-associated degradation (ERAD) to maintain ER homeostasis. However, persistent ER stress can lead to cell damage. ER-phagy is a selective form of autophagy that ensures the timely removal of damaged ER, thereby protecting cells from damage caused by excessive ER stress. As ER-phagy is a newly identified form of autophagy, many receptor-mediated ER-phagy pathways have been discovered in recent years. In this review, we summarize our understanding of the maintenance of ER homeostasis and describe the receptors identified to date. Finally, the relationships between ER-phagy and diseases are also discussed.

Keywords: ER-phagy; ERAD; autophagy; endoplasmic reticulum (ER); unfolded protein response (UPR).

Publication types

Review