The Role of Autophagy in Mammalian Development: Cell Makeover Rather than Cell Death

• Published in: Developmental cell Vol. 15; no. 3; pp. 344 - 357
• Main Authors: Cecconi, Francesco, Levine, Beth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, MA Elsevier Inc 01.09.2008; Cell Press
• Subjects: Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; Ageing, cell death; Animals; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; Autophagy - physiology; Autophagy-Related Protein 5; Autophagy-Related Protein 7; Autophagy-Related Proteins; Beclin-1; Biological and medical sciences; Cell Death - physiology; Cell Differentiation; Cell differentiation, maturation, development, hematopoiesis; Cell physiology; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Disease Models, Animal; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Mice; Microtubule-Associated Proteins - genetics; Microtubule-Associated Proteins - metabolism; Molecular and cellular biology; Morphogenesis; Phagosomes - metabolism; Protein Kinases - genetics; Protein Kinases - metabolism; Proteins - genetics; Proteins - metabolism; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins - genetics; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins - metabolism; Signal Transduction - physiology; Development; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Cell death; Autophagy; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 1534-5807; 1878-1551; 1878-1551
• DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2008.08.012

Autophagy is important for the degradation of bulk cytoplasm, long-lived proteins, and entire organelles. In lower eukaryotes, autophagy functions as a cell death mechanism or as a stress response during development. However, autophagy's significance in vertebrate development, and the role (if any) of vertebrate-specific factors in its regulation, remains unexplained. Through careful analysis of the current autophagy gene mutant mouse models, we propose that in mammals, autophagy may be involved in specific cytosolic rearrangements needed for proliferation, death, and differentiation during embryogenesis and postnatal development. Thus, autophagy is a process of cytosolic “renovation,” crucial in cell fate decisions.