Assessing Autophagy in Microglia: A Two-Step Model to Determine Autophagosome Formation, Degradation, and Net Turnover.

ABSTRACT: Autophagy is a complex process that encompasses the enclosure of cytoplasmic debris or dysfunctional organelles in membranous vesicles, the autophagosomes, for their elimination in the lysosomes. Autophagy is increasingly recognized as a critical process in macrophages, including microglia, as it finely regulates innate immune functions such as inflammation. A gold-standard method to assess its induction is the analysis of the autophagic flux using as a surrogate the expression of the microtubule-associated light chain protein 3 conjugated to phosphatidylethanolamine (LC3-II) by Western blot, in the presence of lysosomal inhibitors. Therefore, the current definition of autophagy flux actually puts the focus on the degradation stage of autophagy. In contrast, the most important autophagy co

SUBMITTER: Plaza-Zabala A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7878397 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature