"Autophagy suite": Atg9 cycling in the cytoplasm to vacuole targeting pathway

Abstract

Macroautophagy continues to gather increasing attention because it is connected with a wide range of human pathophysiologies, developmental processes, and life span extension. It is also an interesting process from a basic cellular biology standpoint, as it involves dynamic membrane rearrangements and multiple protein-protein interactions. Although macroautophagy can be nonspecific, there are many examples of selective sequestration including pexophagy, mitophagy and the cytoplasm to vacuole targeting (Cvt) pathway. At present, the Cvt pathway is unique in that it is the only example of a biosynthetic use of macroautophagy. Most of the autophagy-related (Atg) proteins are involved in the Cvt pathway, and various types of analyses have placed these proteins at particular stages of the process. For example, Atg9 is the only characterized transmembrane protein that is absolutely required for Cvt vesicle formation, and it is proposed to carry membrane from peripheral donor sites to the phagophore assembly site where the vesicle forms. Additional proteins, including Atg11, Atg23 and Atg27 are involved in this anterograde movement, whereas Atg1-Atg13 and Atg2-Atg18 are required for the retrograde return to the peripheral sites. Even when we illustrate our understanding of these events in a schematic model, however, they are by necessity flat two-dimensional representations, lacking movement and sound. Yet the cell is a living entity that is not well served by this sole method of information display. Accordingly, we decided to present the Cvt pathway as a vibrant, dynamic process by combining science, music and illustration.