Acinar cell injury induced by inadequate unfolded protein response in acute pancreatitis

Figure 3 Proposed models of autophagy flux regulation by the unfolded protein response in response to endoplasmic reticulum stress. In physiological endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, adequate unfolded protein response (UPR) maintains effective autophagy flux that relieves ER stress (upper panel). In pathological ER stress, however, inadequate UPR causes the accumulation of intracellular vacuoles, which further aggravates ER stress (lower panel). Arrows and lines represent active (solid) and ineffective (dotted) signaling. Thick and red arrows symbolize enhanced interactions and harmful activity, respectively.