Editor’s choice: autophagy

Autophagy is a degradation system for maintaining cellular homeostasis, whereby cytosolic components are enclosed within a double-membrane vesicle, an autophagosome, and then delivered to the lysosomes where they are broken down and materials recycled. Whilst the 2016 Nobel Prize was awarded to Yoshinori Ohsumi for their work on autophagy, many mechanistic questions remain. Furthering our understanding is crucial, as autophagy underlies the pathogenesis of a myriad of human diseases – cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases, as well as, cancer. Autophagy-targeted therapies are emerging as promising candidates to treat some of these disorders.

This Collection features our recent articles elaborating the role of autophagy in homeostasis, its implication in disease pathology, and as a potential therapeutic target.