Autophagy-dependent ferroptosis in infectious disease

Autophagy is the initial defense response of the host against pathogens. Autophagy can be either non-selective or selective. It selectively targets the degradation of autophagic substrates through the sorting and transportation of autophagic receptor proteins. However, excessive autophagy activity will trigger cell death especially ferroptosis, which was characterized by the accumulation of lipid peroxide and free iron. Several certain types of selective autophagy degrade antioxidant systems and ferritin. Here, we summarized the latest researches of autophagy in infection and discuss the regulatory mechanisms and signaling pathways of autophagy-dependent ferroptosis.