Autophagy during vertebrate development.
Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic process by which cells degrade their own components through the lysosomal machinery. In physiological conditions, the mechanism is tightly regulated and contributes to maintain a balance between synthesis and degradation in cells undergoing intense metabolic activities. Autophagy is associated with major tissue remodeling processes occurring through the embryonic, fetal and early postnatal periods of vertebrates. Here we survey current information implicating autophagy in cellular death, proliferation or differentiation in developing vertebrates. In developing systems, activation of the autophagic machinery could promote different outcomes depending on the cellular context. Autophagy is thus an extraordinary tool for the developing organs and tissues.
Institute for Biomedical Research "Alberto Sols", CSIC-UAM, C/ Arturo Duperier 4, Madrid 28029, Spain. maburto@iib.uam.es.
María R
MR
Aburto
Departamentos de Anatomía y Biología Celular, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander 39011, Spain. hurlej@unican.es.
Juan M
JM
Hurlé
Institute for Biomedical Research "Alberto Sols", CSIC-UAM, C/ Arturo Duperier 4, Madrid 28029, Spain. ivarela@iib.uam.es.
Isabel
I
Varela-Nieto
Institute for Biomedical Research "Alberto Sols", CSIC-UAM, C/ Arturo Duperier 4, Madrid 28029, Spain. marta.magarinnos@uam.es.
Marta
M
Magariños