FIGURE 1.

Autophagy molecular machinery. The process of autophagy consists of several consequent molecular and subcellular morphological changes. In the early steps, the activation of autophagy upstream molecules leads to phagophore formation and expansion. These units sequester the damaged organelles, aggregated proteins, etc. By the activation of several Atgs, phagophores mature into autophagosomes followed by fusion with lysosomes and the formation of autophagolysosomes. Inside the autophagolysosomes, enzymatic digestion is orchestrated via varied hydrolases, leading to massive enzymatic digestion. The digested cargo is recycled into the cytosol or protrudes out of the host cells. Atg, autophagy-related protein; mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin.