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Autophagy is a highly conserved process by which cells can recycle organelles and proteins by degrading them in the lysosomes. Although autophagy is considered a dynamic system responsible for cellular renovation and homeostasis under physiological conditions, it is increasingly clear that autophagy is directly relevant to clinical disease. During disease progression, autophagy not only serves as a cellular protective mechanism but also can represent a harmful event under certain conditions. In addition, although autophagy can act as a nonselective bulk degradation process, recent research shows that autophagy can selectively degrade specific proteins, organelles, and invading bacteria, in processes termed "selective autophagy...