Methods to Study Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy

Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), a selective form of degradation of cytosolic proteins in lysosomes, contributes to maintenance of proteostasis and to the cellular adaptation to stress. CMA substrates are selectively recognized and delivered by a cytosolic chaperone to the lysosomal surface, where, upon unfolding, they are internalized through a membrane translocation complex. Defective or dysfunctional CMA has been associated with human pathologies such as neurodegeneration, cancer, immunodeficiency, or diabetes, increasing the overall interest in methods to monitor this selective autophagic pathway. In this chapter, we review the different experimental approaches used to evaluate CMA activity in different organs from animals or in cell cultures in vitro.