Abstract
Autophagy is a fundamental and highly regulated lysosomal degradation mechanism, dependent on specialized autophagy-related proteins (Atgs) (Mizushima et al. 2011). It can be classified into macroautophagy, microautophagy, and chaperone-mediated autophagy, but only macroautophagy will be described and hereafter referred to as autophagy since it is the major lysosomal route for the turnover of cytoplasmic constituents. It is characterized by the formation of membranes that engulf cytoplasmic material through the formation of autophagic vacuoles, called autophagosomes. These structures fuse with lysosomes to form autolysosomes where the sequestered material is digested by lysosomal hydrolases. Before this degradative step, autophagosomes can also fuse with endosomes to form amphisomes, making a direct connection between the endo-lysosomal and autophagic pathways. This process is highly dynamic, and constituents are continuously recycled through lysosomal transporters toward...