Autophagy: A Forty-Year Search for a Missing Membrane Source

Juhász, Gábor and Neufeld, Thomas P. (2006) Autophagy: A Forty-Year Search for a Missing Membrane Source. PLoS Biology, 4 (2). e36. ISSN 1544-9173 (print), 1545-7885 (online)

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Abstract

Autophagy is the major self-degradative process in eukaryotic cells, with fundamental roles in cellular and organismal homeostasis, and is involved in many developmental and pathological situations. Structures targeted for autophagic destruction are sequestered into newly emerging double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes, and delivered for lysosomal degradation. Despite recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms of autophagy, a long-standing question concerning the source of the autophagic membrane remains unresolved. Two major alternatives can be considered: the membrane may be derived from a pre-existing cytoplasmic organelle such as the endoplasmic reticulum (maturation model), or assembled from constituents at its site of genesis (assembly model).

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