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The plasma membrane brings autophagosomes to life

Nature Cell Biology volume 12, pages 735–737 (2010)Cite this article

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The plasma membrane is identified as a source for the formation of autophagosomes, the double membrane vesicles that deliver intracellular components to lysosomes for their degradation.

As much as parents often fear the question “where do babies come from?”, those of us in the autophagy field worry about the question that comes up at the end of almost every seminar: where do autophagosome membranes come from? Recent studies on this topic have finally given us something to answer back: from many places. As ambiguous as this may sound, it is not an attempt to dodge the question, but what the results of these investigations suggest.

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Figure 1: Autophagosomes originate from the membrane of different organelles.
Figure 2: Formation of autophagosomes out of the plasma membrane requires components of the endocytic machinery.

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  1. Ana Maria Cuervo is in the Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. ana-maria.cuervo@einstein.yu.edu

    Ana Maria Cuervo

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  1. Ana Maria Cuervo
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The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Cuervo, A. The plasma membrane brings autophagosomes to life. Nat Cell Biol 12, 735–737 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb0810-735

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb0810-735

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