Autophagy Diseases

Autophagy is a “housekeeping” regulated process of degrading long-lived proteins and dysfunctional cellular organelles. There are three main types of autophagy: macroautophagy, microautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy. In chaperon-mediated autophagy, chaperons recognize substrates and deliver them to lysosomes, while in microautophagy, cytosolic proteins are taken into lysosome by direct invagination of lysosomal membrane. Macroautophagy is the most active form of autophagy. In macroautophagy, proteins and organelles are packed in autophagosones, and then degraded through fusion with lysosome. Macroautophagy plays a major role in intracellular degradation, and is commonly referred to as autophagy. Autophagy is essential for cellular health and survival. It can survive cells in nutrient-limiting condition by generating required free amino acids and fatty acids to maintain function, and keep cell healthy by removing damaged organelles and proteins. However, autophagy can also be a mediator of cell death through excessive self-digestion and degradation of essential cellular constituents or through triggering apoptosis. Rong Pan, Autophagy in Cerebral Ischemia: Therapist or Killer

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Last date updated on April, 2024