Figure 1.
Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor signaling functions as an autophagy-inducing signaling pathway. In the simplified model shown, starvation activates MAPK (MPK-1, C. elegans ortholog of mammalian ERK) through the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor signaling pathway. Activated MAPK positively regulates autophagy, at least in part, through DAP kinase and RGS-2.