Autophagy in stem and progenitor cells

Autophagy is a highly conserved cellular process, responsible for the degradation and recycling of damaged and/or outlived proteins and organelles. This is the major cellular pathway, acting throughout the formation of cytosolic vesicles, called autophagosomes, for the delivering to lysosome. Recycling of cellular components through autophagy is a crucial step for cell homeostasis as well as for tissue remodelling during development. Impairment of this process has been related to the pathogenesis of various diseases, such as cancer and neurodegeneration, to the response to bacterial and viral infections, and to ageing. The ability of stem cells to self-renew and differentiate into the mature cells of the body renders this unique type of cell highly crucial to development and tissue renewal, not least in various diseases. During the last two decades, extensive knowledge about autophagy roles and regulation in somatic cells has been acquired; however, the picture about the role and the regulation of autophagy in the different types of stem cells is still largely unknown. Autophagy is a major player in the quality control and maintenance of cellular homeostasis, both crucial factors for stem cells during an organism's life. In this review, we have highlighted the most significant advances in the comprehension of autophagy regulation in embryonic and tissue stem cells, as well as in cancer stem cells and induced pluripotent cells.