Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2025

Author Spotlight: A Selective Luciferase-Based Assay for Monitoring ATG4B 27 Activity in Cells
Published on: June 30, 2023
ATG and ESCRT control multiple modes of microautophagy
Yasuyoshi Sakai1, Masahide Oku2
1Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan.
Abstract:
The discovery of microautophagy, the direct engulfment of cytoplasmic material by the lysosome, dates back to 1966 in a morphological study of mammalian cells by Christian de Duve. Since then, studies on microautophagy have shifted toward the elucidation of the physiological significance of the process. However, in contrast to macroautophagy, studies on the molecular mechanisms of microautophagy have been limited. Only recent studies revealed that ATG proteins involved in macroautophagy are also operative in several types of microautophagy and that ESCRT proteins, responsible for the multivesicular body pathway, play a central role in most microautophagy processes. In this review, we summarize our current knowledge on the function of ATG and ESCRT proteins in microautophagy.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Autophagy
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
Delivery Pathways to the Lysosome
Endocytosis
In endocytosis, the cell membrane takes up macromolecules and particles from the surrounding medium. Clathrin-mediated...
Autophagic Cell Death
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and...
Export of Misfolded Proteins out of the ER
Intralumenal Vesicles and Multivesicular Bodies
Recycling Endosomes and Transcytosis
The recycling endosome is not a single organelle but an extensively tubulated network of recycling pathways. It functions in storing molecules or transporting them across...

