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Eaten alive: a history of macroautophagy

Nature Cell Biology volume 12, pages 814–822 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Macroautophagy (hereafter autophagy), or 'self-eating', is a conserved cellular pathway that controls protein and organelle degradation, and has essential roles in survival, development and homeostasis. Autophagy is also integral to human health and is involved in physiology, development, lifespan and a wide range of diseases, including cancer, neurodegeneration and microbial infection. Although research on this topic began in the late 1950s, substantial progress in the molecular study of autophagy has taken place during only the past 15 years. This review traces the key findings that led to our current molecular understanding of this complex process.

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Figure 1: Schematic depiction of autophagy.
Figure 2: Signalling regulation of mammalian autophagy.
Figure 3: A model for the roles of apoptosis and autophagy in tumorigenesis.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NIH grant GM53396 to D.J.K.

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  1. the Department of Molecular, USA and the Department of Biological Chemistry 1150 West Medical Center Drive, Zhifen Yang and Daniel J. Klionsky are at the Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, 210 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2216, USA, Cellular and Developmental Biology, 830 North University Avenue, Natural Science Building (Kraus) Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5606, USA.,

    Zhifen Yang & Daniel J. Klionsky

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  1. Zhifen Yang
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  2. Daniel J. Klionsky
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Correspondence to Daniel J. Klionsky.

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Yang, Z., Klionsky, D. Eaten alive: a history of macroautophagy. Nat Cell Biol 12, 814–822 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb0910-814

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