Autophagosome Maturation and Fusion

Macroautophagy, or simply autophagy, is a degradative pathway that delivers cytoplasmic components, including cytosol and organelles, to the lysosome in double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes. This process is initiated at the pre-autophagosomal structure or phagophore assembly site and involves a number of highly conserved autophagy-related proteins. These support the generation and conversion of an open membranous cistern known as the phagophore or isolation membrane into a closed autophagosome. Within this review, we will focus on recent insights into the molecular events following the sealing/completion of an autophagosome, which lead to its maturation and subsequent fusion with endosomes/lysosomes.