Understanding the importance and necessity of the role of autophagy in health and disease is vital for the studies of cancer, aging, neurodegeneration, immunology, and infectious diseases. Comprehensive and forward thinking, these books offer a valuable guide to both cellular processes while inciting researchers to explore their potentially important connections.
Considering that autophagy is associated with numerous biological processes, including cellular development and differentiation, cancer (both antitumor and protumor functions), immunity, infectious diseases, inflammation, maintenance of homeostasis, response to cellular stress, and degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and prion diseases, there is a great need to understanding its role. Cell homeostasis is achieved by balancing biosynthesis and cellular turnover. In spite of the increasing importance of autophagy in various pathophysiological situations (conditions) mentioned above, this process remains underestimated and overlooked. As a consequence, its role in the initiation, stability, maintenance, and progression of these and other diseases (e.g., autoimmune disease) remains poorly understood.