Lipido-proteina elkarrekintzak autofagian

Abstract

Autophagy is an essential process for cell survival. The central event of the autophagic process is the generation of the so-called autophagosome (AP), a vesicle surrounded by a double membrane (two bilayers). The AP delivers its cargo to a lysosome for degradation and the hydrolysis products are reused as new building blocks. AP formation is a very complex event that requires dozens of specific proteins and involves numerous instances of biogenesis and membrane architecture, including membrane fusion and fission. Many stages of AP generation can be explained in terms of curvature changes, caused by the molecular geometry of lipids ("intrinsic curvature") or by changes in the overall curvature of the entire membrane. This contribution explores the biophysics and cell biology underlying the complex process of autophagy.