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World J Transplant. Sep 18, 2025; 15(3): 103163
Published online Sep 18, 2025. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v15.i3.103163
Role of autophagy in rejection after solid organ transplantation: A systematic review of the literature
Shu-Min Jiang, Xue-Jiao Li, Zi-Lin Wang, Zhi-Wei Chen, Zhi-Long Liu, Qiang Li, Xiao-Long Chen
Shu-Min Jiang, Zi-Lin Wang, Zhi-Wei Chen, Zhi-Long Liu, Qiang Li, Xiao-Long Chen, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, China
Xue-Jiao Li, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, China
Co-first authors: Shu-Min Jiang and Xue-Jiao Li.
Co-corresponding authors: Qiang Li and Xiao-Long Chen.
Author contributions: Jiang SM, Li XJ, and Chen XL were responsible for drafting the manuscript; Jiang SM and Li XJ contributed equally to this paper and are the co-first authors of this manuscript; Wang ZL, Chen ZW, and Liu ZL were responsible for data acquisition; Li Q and Chen XL were responsible for submitting the version for final approval, they contributed equally to this paper and are the co-corresponding authors of this manuscript; Chen XL was responsible for conception and design, manuscript revision, and funding; and all authors thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82100691; and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, No. 2021M693631.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Long Chen, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, No. 613 Huangpu Avenue, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, China. chenxl0406@jnu.edu.cn
Received: November 18, 2024
Revised: January 21, 2025
Accepted: February 6, 2025
Published online: September 18, 2025
Processing time: 152 Days and 4.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: The intricate mechanisms underlying transplant rejection have been the subject of intense investigation by transplant immunologists. As an evolutionarily conserved self-regulatory protective mechanism in eukaryotic cells, autophagy also plays a crucial role in the development, maturation, differentiation and response of immune cells. Our article reviews the role and mechanisms of autophagy of different types of immune cells in the rejection after solid organ transplantation, so as to provide a theoretical basis for better understanding the profound connotation of graft rejection and potential treatment approaches by targeting autophagy in the future.