The term 'autophagy' was chosen to distinguish the lysosomal degradation, or 'eating' (phagy), of part of the cell's self (auto) from the breakdown of extracellular material (heterophagy).
Cells degrade components that are no longer needed through autophagy. New results show that a weak molecular interaction is essential for this process. By modifying this interaction, it is possible to ...
Recycling takes place in our cells at all times: in a process called autophagy, cell components that are no longer needed are enclosed by membranes and broken down into their basic building blocks.