autophagy
Type: process Aliases: cellular cleanupmacroautophagy
- Systems Analogy A household recycling routine that clears out broken clutter to make space and fresh supplies.
- Formal Definition An evolutionary conserved lysosomal degradation pathway that recycles damaged organelles, misfolded proteins, and intracellular pathogens to maintain cellular quality control.
Mentioned In
- Biological CircuitsReversible Autophagy and Neuronal Restoration
- Conceptlysosomal
- MoleculeEGCG
- Processdegradation pathway
- ProteinAMPK
Scientific Sources & Literature Citations
- [1] Empirical Study Klionsky DJ, et al. Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy. Autophagy. 2021;17(1):1-382. ↗
"Autophagy is the lysosomal-dependent clearing of cytoplasmic components to sustain viability."