Autophagy, or cellular self-digestion, is a cellular pathway crucial for development,
differentiation, survival, and homeostasis. Its implication in human diseases has been
highlighted during the last decade. Recent data show that autophagy is involved in major
fields of hepatology. In liver ischemia reperfusion injury, autophagy mainly has a prosurvival
activity allowing the cell for coping with nutrient starvation and anoxia. During hepatitis B or
C infection, autophagy is also increased but subverted by viruses for their own benefit. In …