Roles of ubiquitin in autophagy and cell death

The balance between cell survival and cell death is often lost in human pathologies such as inflammation and cancer. Autophagy plays a critical role in cell survival: essential nutrients are generated by autophagy-dependent degradation and recycling of cellular garbage. On the other hand, cell death is induced by different programs, such as apoptosis, pyroptosis, and necroptosis. Emerging evidence is revealing how cell survival and cell death pathways are coordinated to determine cell fate. For instance, posttranslational modification of proteins with ubiquitin regulates many steps of autophagy and cell death pathways. In this review article, we will discuss how the ubiquitin system influences cell death and autophagy.