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PMID: 16247502 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Review

Autophagy: molecular machinery for self-eating.

Cell death and differentiation ·Vol. 12 Suppl 2 ·2005-11-00 ·Pages 1542-52

Yorimitsu T, Klionsky DJ

Abstract

Autophagy is a highly conserved process in eukaryotes in which the cytoplasm, including excess or aberrant organelles, is sequestered into double-membrane vesicles and delivered to the degradative organelle, the lysosome/vacuole, for breakdown and eventual recycling of the resulting macromolecules. This process has an important role in various biological events such as adaptation to changing environmental conditions, cellular remodeling during development and differentiation, and determination of lifespan. Auto-phagy is also involved in preventing certain types of disease, although it may contribute to some pathologies. Recent studies have identified many components that are required to drive this complicated cellular process. Auto-phagy-related genes were first identified in yeast, but homologs are found in all eukaryotes. Analyses in a range of model systems have provided huge advances toward understanding the molecular basis of autophagy. Here we review our current knowledge on the machinery and molecular mechanism of autophagy.

MeSH Terms
Animals Autophagy/physiology Cell Membrane/physiology Humans Lysosomes/physiology Membrane Fusion/physiology Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/physiology Phosphatidylinositol Phosphates/physiology Signal Transduction Transport Vesicles/physiology Vacuoles/physiology Yeasts/physiology
Chemicals
Phosphatidylinositol Phosphates phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Yorimitsu T
Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Klionsky D J
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Article Info
Journal
Cell death and differentiation
Abbr.
Cell Death Differ
ISSN
1350-9047
DOI
10.1038/sj.cdd.4401765
Published
2005-11-00
Pages
1542-52
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
9437445
PMCID
PMC1828868
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM053396 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM53396 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1038/sj.cdd.4401765 PMC Full Text View journal details
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