Origin of autophagic membrane: study on organelle biogenesis

自噬是一种细胞内降解系统，具有从发育分化到抑制肿瘤发生、神经退行性变、感染性疾病等多种功能。自噬体在何处形成一直是长期争论的目标。在这个项目中，我们证明了它是形成线粒体和内质网之间的接触点。我们的发现为解决这个谜团提供了有用的信息，并为开发自噬调节疗法提供了有用的信息。

Autophagy is an intracellular degradation system having multiple functions from development and differentiation to suppression of tumorigenesis, neurodegeneration, infectious diseases, etc. The membrane-bound compartment, atuophagosome executes autophagy. Where autophagosome is formed has been a target of the long-standing debate. In this project we demonstrated that is is formed the contact sites between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum. Our finding resolved the enigma and provided useful information for developing autophagy regulating therapy.