形态学检测在自噬研究中的应用

Morphological analysis of autophagy

自噬是降解损伤及丧失功能的细胞器或蛋白,维持细胞更新和稳态的关键细胞过程。自噬可分为三个相对独立的步骤:自噬泡起始形成阶段、自噬小体形成阶段以及成熟降解阶段,每个阶段都有其相对独特的形态学特征或分子标志物变化。本文综述了自噬研究中常用的形态学研究方法、结果阐释及这些过程中的关键注意事项。

Autophagy is an important homeostatic cellular recycling mechanism responsible for degrading injured or dysfunctional subcellular organelles and proteins in all living cells. The process of autophagy can be divided into three relatively independent steps： the initiation of phagophore, the formation of autophagosome and the maturation/degradation stage. Different morphological characteristics and molecular marker changes can be observed at these stages. Morphological approaches are useful to produce novel knowledge that would not be achieved through other experimental methods. Here we summarize the morphological methods in monitoring autophagy, the principles in data interpretation and the cautions that should be considered in the study of autophagy.