Podocyte injury is a common cause of proteinuric kidney diseases. Uncontrollable progressive podocyte loss accelerates glomerulosclerosis and increases the risk of end-stage renal disease. To date, owing to the complex pathological mechanism, effective therapies for podocyte injury have been limited. Accumulating evidence supports the indispensable role of autophagy in the maintenance of podocyte homeostasis. A variety of natural compounds and their derivatives have been found to regulate autophagy through multiple targets, including promotes nuclear transfer of transcription factor EB and lysosomal repair. Here, we reviewed the recent studies on the use of natural compounds and their derivatives as autophagy regulators and discussed their potential applications in ameliorating podocyte injury. Several known natural compounds with autophagy-regulatory properties, such as quercetin, silibinin, kaempferol, and artemisinin, and their medical uses were also discussed. This review will help in improving the understanding of the podocyte protective mechanism of natural compounds and promote their development for clinical use.

足细胞损伤是蛋白尿肾病的常见原因。无法控制的进行性足细胞丢失会加速肾小球硬化并增加终末期肾病的风险。迄今为止，由于病理机制复杂，足细胞损伤的有效治疗方法有限。越来越多的证据支持自噬在维持足细胞稳态中不可或缺的作用。已发现多种天然化合物及其衍生物通过多个靶点调节自噬，包括促进转录因子 EB 的核转移和溶酶体修复。在这里，我们回顾了最近关于使用天然化合物及其衍生物作为自噬调节剂的研究，并讨论了它们在改善足细胞损伤方面的潜在应用。还讨论了几种已知的具有自噬调节特性的天然化合物，例如槲皮素、水飞蓟宾、山奈酚和青蒿素，以及它们的医学用途。本综述将有助于加深对天然化合物足细胞保护机制的认识，促进其临床应用的发展。