cells Review Advances in ER-Phagy and Its Diseases Relevance Lingang He 1,2 , Xuehong Qian 1,2 and Yixian Cui 1,2,* 1 Department of Neurosurgery, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China;
[email protected] (L.H.);
[email protected] (X.Q.) 2 Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Medical Research Institute, School of Medicine, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +86-27-87267099 Abstract: As an important form of selective autophagy in cells, ER-phagy (endoplasmic reticulum- selective autophagy), the autophagic degradation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER), degrades ER membranes and proteins to maintain cellular homeostasis. The relationship between ER-phagy and human diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, and other metabolic diseases has been unveiled by extensive research in recent years. Starting with the catabolic process of ER-phagy and key mediators in this pathway, this paper reviews the advances in the mechanism of ER-phagy and its diseases relevance. We hope to provide some enlightenment for further study on ER-phagy and the development of novel therapeutic strategies for related diseases. Keywords: ER-phagy; receptor; neurodegenerative diseases; cancer; metabolic diseases 1. Introduction Selective autophagy is a class of autophagic pathways that targets specific substrates Citation: He, L.; Qian, X.; Cui, Y. for degradation. Depending on the substrates, selective autophagy can be classified into Advances in ER-Phagy and Its Diseases Relevance. Cells 2021, 10, mitophagy, lysophagy, aggrephagy, pexophagy, nucleophagy, xenophagy, and ER-phagy 2328. https://doi.org/10.3390/ (endoplasmic reticulum-selective autophagy), etc. [1]. Receptor proteins determine the cells10092328 selectivity of autophagic substrates.