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Physiological Functions of Autophagy

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Autophagy in Infection and Immunity

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology ((CT MICROBIOLOGY,volume 335))

Abstract

The field of autophagy research has advanced rapidly in recent years, with important discoveries made in relation to both molecular mechanisms and physiological functions. Initially, autophagy was thought to be primarily a response to starvation. Although this might be true in lower eukaryotes, this catabolic process exerts various physiological functions in higher eukaryotes. This review summarizes the physiological roles of autophagy in amino acid pool maintenance, intracellular quality control, development, cell death, tumor suppression and anti-aging.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. The author also thanks the Kato Memorial Bioscience Foundation and Toray Science Foundation for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, 113-8519, Japan

    Noboru Mizushima

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Correspondence to Noboru Mizushima .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Southwestern Medical Center, University of Texas, Harry Hines Blvd. 5323, Dallas, 75390-9113, U.S.A.

    Beth Levine

  2. Research Inst. Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Yamadaoka 3-1, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan

    Tamotsu Yoshimori

  3. Health Sciences Center, University of New Mexico, Camino de Salud NE., 915, Albuquerque, 87131, U.S.A.

    Vojo Deretic

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Mizushima, N. (2009). Physiological Functions of Autophagy. In: Levine, B., Yoshimori, T., Deretic, V. (eds) Autophagy in Infection and Immunity. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 335. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00302-8_3

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