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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Jul 4.
Published in final edited form as: Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2011 Aug;11(8):1283–1294. doi: 10.1586/era.11.111

Figure 1. Cellular pathway of autophagy.

Figure 1

The PI3K complex mediates the initiation of the phagophore membrane, enveloping labeled cytosolic proteins organelles and fat. mTOR and Bcl-2 can inhibit the initiation of autophagy. The Atg12-Atg5-Atg16 complex, LC3 and the transmembrane Atg9 are recruited to the phagophore and are necessary for elongation of the double membrane. Lysosomes fuse with the autophagosome, creating the autolysosome. The resulting products of the catalytic degradation process are transported to the cytosol and recycled.

LC: Light chain-3.