Role of autophagy in male and female fertility

Abstract

Autophagy is an important cellular homoeostatic process that transports cytoplasmic constituents to lysosomes and participates in various physiological processes. Recent findings have revealed novel functional roles of autophagy in the reproductive process, and dysfunctional autophagy has been reported to be associated with male and female infertility. In this review, we summarise the recent progress regarding autophagy in fertility and discuss important concerns in this field.