[Frontiers in Bioscience S4, 1354-1363, June 1, 2012]

Autophagy: mechanism and physiological relevance 'brewed' from yeast studies

Rodney J Devenish1, Daniel J Klionsky2

1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton campus, Victoria 3800, Australia, 2Life Sciences Institute and Departments of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2216, USA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. How the isolation of yeast mutants 'opened the autophagic black box'
3.1. Yeast autophagy mutants and gene identification
3.2. Mammalian autophagy genes and proteins
4. Processes described in yeast
4.1. Macroautophagy
4.2. Microautophagy
4.3. Cytoplasm-to-vacuole targeting (Cvt)
4.4. Vacuolar import and degradation (Vid)
5. The forms of autophagy in mammalian cells
5.1. Macroautophagy
5.2. Microautophagy
5.3. Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA)
6. Commonalities of autophagic processes between yeast and mammals
7. The functions of autophagy in health and disease
7.1. Autophagy and pathogenesis
7.2. Other physiological roles for autophagy
7.3. Potential for clinical manipulation of autophagy
8. Perspective
9. Acknowledgements
10. References

1. ABSTRACT

Autophagy is a highly conserved process of quality control occurring inside cells by which cytoplasmic material can be degraded and the products recycled for use as new building blocks or for energy production. The rapid progress and 'explosion' of knowledge concerning autophagic processes in mammals/humans that has occurred over the last 15 years was driven by fundamental studies in yeast, principally using Saccharomyces cerevisiae, leading to the identification and cloning of genes required for autophagy. This chapter reviews the role of yeast studies in understanding the molecular mechanisms of autophagic processes, focusing on aspects that are conserved in mammals/humans and how autophagy is increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of disease and is required for development and differentiation.