Autophagy is a catabolic process mediated by cytosolic vacuoles, the autophagosomes, acting in physiological and pathological conditions. IkB Kinase (IKK), a crucial regulator of the NFkB pathway, has been recently included among autophagy regulators: autophagy induction results in IKK activation, and IKK itself exerts NFKB-independent pro-autopha-gic roles. However, these data do not address the question whether autophagy-activated IKK or autophagy per se affects the canonical NFkB pathway (Fig. I). NFkB is one of the most relevant and evolutionary conserved transcriptional factors for regulating the immune system response against pathogens. However, the network of NFkB target genes is constantly expanding, thus demonstrating its broad functions in cell survival, differentiation and proliferation.
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