Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: Autophagy is an intracellular degradative process with a number of roles, one of which can be the protection of eukaryotic cells from invading microbes. Microtubule-associated protein light-chain 3 (LC3) is a key autophagy-related protein that is recruited to the double-membrane autophagosome responsible for sequestering material intended for delivery to lysosomes. GFP-LC3 is widely used as a marker of autophagosome formation as denoted by the formation of green puncta when viewed by fluorescence microscopy. Recently, it has been demonstrated that LC3 can be recruited to other membranes including single-membrane phagosomes, in a process termed LC3-associated phagocytosis (LAP). Thus, the observation of green puncta in cells can no longer, by itself, be taken as evidence of autophagy. This review will clarify those features of LAP which serve to distinguish it from autophagy and that make connections with host autophagic responses in terms of infection by microbial pathogens. More specifically, it will refer to concurrent studies of the mechanism by which LAP is triggered in comparison to autophagy.
Source: Cells
DOI: 10.3390/cells1030396
Authors: Shu-chin Lai, Rodney J. Devenish
Institution: Monash University
Language: English
Subfield: Cell Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,258
OpenAlex ID: W2067656942