During the last decades, the potential harmfulness derived from the exposure to environmental pollutants has been largely demonstrated, with associated damages ranging from geno- and cyto-toxicity to tissue malfunction and alterations in organism physiology. Autophagy is an evolutionarily-conserved cellular mechanism essential for cellular homeostasis, which contributes to protect cells from a wide variety of intracellular and extracellular stressors. Due to its pivotal importance, its correct functioning is directly linked to cell, tissue and organismal fitness. Environmental pollutants, particularly industrial compounds, are able to impact autophagic flux, either by increasing it as a protective response, by blocking it, or by switching its protective role toward a pro-cell death mechanism. Thus, the understanding of the effects of chemicals exposure on autophagy has become highly relevant, offering new potential approaches for risk assessment, protection and preventive measures to counteract the detrimental effects of environmental pollutants on human health.

在过去的几十年中，已充分证明了由于暴露于环境污染物而带来的潜在危害，其相关损害包括基因和细胞毒性，组织功能失常和生物生理变化。自噬是细胞稳态所必需的进化保守的细胞机制，它有助于保护细胞免受各种细胞内和细胞外应激源的侵害。由于其举足轻重的重要性，其正确的功能直接与细胞，组织和有机体适应性相关。环境污染物，特别是工业化合物，能够通过增加自噬通量作为保护性反应，通过阻断它或将其保护作用转变为前细胞死亡机制来影响自噬通量。从而，