Autophagy is a fundamental cellular process that eliminates molecules and subcellular elements. This process is crucial for maintaining homeostasis and responding to various stressors, playing a key role in physiological development and the genesis of pathological conditions. This review summarizes recent advances in autophagy regulation strategies and the development of artificial peptide-based tools for monitoring and modulating autophagy.

Autophagy is a highly conserved lysosomal degradation pathway for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Its dysregulation is implicated in various diseases, including cancer, neurodegeneration, and infections, making precise modulation of autophagy a potentially promising therapeutic strategy. Artificial peptide-based autophagy modulators have emerged as a promising alternative to conventional small molecules, offering several advantages in terms of specificity, biocompatibility, and functional versatility. This review summarizes recent advances in artificial peptide-based autophagy monitoring tools, autophagy inducers, and autophagy inhibitors.