Autophagy and Age-Related Eye Diseases

Figure 1

Three types of autophagy. (1) In microautophagy, proteins or other targeted components are translocated into the lysosomes for degradation via direct invagination of the lysosomal limiting membrane. (2) In chaperone-mediated autophagy, substrate proteins carrying a KFERQ-like pentapeptide sequence are firstly recognized by the Hsc70 chaperones, which then binds with integral lysosome membrane protein LAMP-2A. The complex is finally translocated into lysosomal lumen. (3) In macroautophagy, proteins, dysfunctional organelles, and random cytoplasm are enclosed is enclosed phagophore to form an autophagosome, which then fuses with lysosomes to complete the degradation of cargoes.