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Updated: Apr 1, 2026

Study of Protein-protein Interactions in Autophagy Research
Published on: September 9, 2017
Autophagy and proteins involved in vesicular trafficking
Celina Amaya1, Claudio Marcelo Fader1, María Isabel Colombo1
1Laboratorio de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Histología y Embriología (IHEM)-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Casilla de Correo 56, Centro Universitario, Parque General San Martín, 5500 Mendoza, Argentina.
Abstract:
Autophagy is an intracellular degradation system that, as a basic mechanism it delivers cytoplasmic components to the lysosomes in order to maintain adequate energy levels and cellular homeostasis. This complex cellular process is activated by low cellular nutrient levels and other stress situations such as low ATP levels, the accumulation of damaged proteins or organelles, or pathogen invasion. Autophagy as a multistep process involves vesicular transport events leading to tethering and fusion of autophagic vesicles with several intracellular compartments. This review summarizes our current understanding of the autophagic pathway with emphasis in the trafficking machinery (i.e. Rabs GTPases and SNAP receptors (SNAREs)) involved in specific steps of the pathway.
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