title: Non-selective autophagy.
abstract: Autophagy is the major process by which cells degrade their own cytoplasm. Autophagy begins with the sequestration of a portion of the cytoplasm by a membraneous organelle called a phagophore. The resulting vacuole (autophagosome) can fuse with an endocytic vacuole to form am amphisome, which subsequently fuses with a lysosome to have its mixed autophagic/endocytic content degraded by lysosomal enzymes. Autophagy is a non-selective bulk process as indicated by the fact that hepatocytic cytosol enzymes with widely different half-lives are sequestered at the same rate. Regulation of autophagy is exerted at the sequestration step by amino acids, purines, ATP-depleting metabolites, cyclic nucleotides, phosphorylation, and hormones like insulin, glucagon and alpha-adrenergic agonists.
authors.affiliation: Department of Tissue Culture, Institute for Cancer Research, The Norwegian Radium Hospital, Montebello, Oslo.
authors.forename: P O
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Seglen
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Holen
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D002451:Cell Compartmentation; D006728:Hormones / Q000502:physiology; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000502:physiology; D009712:Nucleotides, Cyclic / Q000502:physiology; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000502:physiology; D011687:Purines / Q000378:metabolism; D011887:Raffinose / Q000378:metabolism; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D006728:Hormones; D009712:Nucleotides, Cyclic; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D011687:Purines; D011887:Raffinose