2025, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (8): 1650-1658

Role of cellular autophagy in cerebral ischemic injury and the regulatory mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine

Zhou Panpan1, Cui Yinglin2, Zhang Wentao2, Wang Shurui2, Chen Jiahui1, Yang Tong2     

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that ischemia-induced cellular autophagy dysfunction is a key factor in brain injury. Autophagy related genes 6 (ATG6), microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain (LC3), p62, and other autophagy key proteins are involved in the processes such as neuronal axonal degeneration, death, and intracellular homeostasis maintenance, playing an important role in the recovery of neural function.
OBJECTIVE: To review the research progress in the role of cellular autophagy in cerebral ischemic injury and the regulatory mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine.

METHODS: The first author used “ischemic stroke, brain tissue injury, cellular autophagy, signaling pathways, traditional Chinese medicine compounds, terpenoids, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, lignans, phthalates” as Chinese and English keywords respectively to search for literature on autophagy, cerebral ischemic injury, and the regulatory mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and PubMed databases from January 2016 to February 2024. Literature that is not highly relevant, repetitive, or outdated was excluded. A total of 1 746 relevant literature were retrieved, and 92 articles were ultimately included.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Numerous studies have confirmed that autophagy plays an important role in cerebral ischemic injury. Moderate autophagy can promote cell survival, while excessive autophagy exacerbates brain injury. Traditional Chinese medicine can regulate the expression of autophagy related proteins, inhibit neuronal necrosis and apoptosis, and exert neuroprotective effects at different stages of cerebral ischemia by regulating signaling pathways such as PI3K/Akt/mTOR, AMPK-mTOR, and mitogen activated protein kinase.
Key words: cerebral ischemic injury, cellular autophagy, traditional Chinese medicine, mechanism of action, research progress