Autophagy, or cellular self-digestion, is a cellular pathway involved in protein and organelle degradation, with an astonishing number of connections to human disease and physiology. For example, autophagic dysfunction is associated with cancer, neurodegeneration, microbial infection and ageing. Paradoxically, although autophagy is primarily a protective process for the cell, it can also play a role in cell death. Understanding autophagy may ultimately allow scientists and clinicians to harness this process for the purpose of improving human health.

1. Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan
2. Departments of Internal Medicine and Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, USA
3. Departments of Anatomy and Structural Biology and of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Marion Bessin Liver Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA
4. Life Sciences Institute and Departments of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109, USA

Correspondence to: Daniel J. Klionsky⁴ Correspondence should be addressed to D.J.K. (Email: klionsky@umich.edu).

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