Previously published online as an Autophagy E-publication: http://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/autophagy/abstract.php?id=1739
KEY WORDSautophagy, apoptosis, caspase, phagocytosis, type 2 cell death
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe apologize in advance to the researchers who were not referenced due to space limitations. J.D. is funded by NIH KO8 CA098419, and is deeply grateful to the mentorship of Dr. Joan Brugge (Harvard Medical School), in whose laboratory he was a postdoctoral fellow. E.B. is supported by NIH grant GM59136. G.K. receives a special grant from the Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer as well as grants from the European Union (Trans-Death).
Review
Does Autophagy Contribute to Cell Death?ABSTRACT Autophagy (specifically macroautophagy) is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic process where the cytoplasmic contents of a cell are sequestered within double membrane vacuoles, called autophagosomes, and subsequently delivered to the lysosome for degradation. Autophagy can function as a survival mechanism in starving cells. At the same time, extensive autophagy is commonly observed in dying cells, leading to its classification as an alternative form of programmed cell death. The functional contribution of autophagy to cell death has been a subject of great controversy. However, several recent loss-of-function studies of autophagy (atg) genes have begun to address the roles of autophagy in both cell death and survival. Here, we review the emerging evidence in favor of and against autophagic cell death, discuss the possible roles that autophagic degradation might play in dying cells, and identify salient issues for future investigation.