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Updated: Mar 21, 2026

In Vitro Polymerization of F-actin on Early Endosomes
Published on: August 28, 2017
Regulation of actin nucleation and autophagosome formation
Amanda S Coutts1, Nicholas B La Thangue2
1Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Medical Sciences Division, Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus Research Building, Old Road Campus, Off Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, OX3 7DQ, UK.
Abstract:
Autophagy is a process of self-eating, whereby cytosolic constituents are enclosed by a double-membrane vesicle before delivery to the lysosome for degradation. This is an important process which allows for recycling of nutrients and cellular components and thus plays a critical role in normal cellular homeostasis as well as cell survival during stresses such as starvation or hypoxia. A large number of proteins regulate various stages of autophagy in a complex and still incompletely understood series of events. In this review, we will discuss recent studies which provide a growing body of evidence that actin dynamics and proteins that influence actin nucleation play an important role in the regulation of autophagosome formation and maturation.
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