Role of autophagy in maintaining the balance of the cell population of insulocytes

Autophagy is a highly conserved homeostatic intracellular process, typical only to eukaryotes, whose function contributes to the degradation of proteins with an abnormal tertiary structure, the removal of defective or excess organelles and resistance to various types of damage. Autophagy plays a key role in cellular metabolism, intracellular homeostasis and the function of organelles such as mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. Disruption of autophagic activity due to aging, obesity, or genetic predisposition may be a factor for development of insulocyte dysfunction and, as a consequence, diabetes mellitus [29]. The article is a review of modern data on the function of autophagy in the process of maintaining homeostatic equilibrium in the B-endocrinocytes of the pancreas.