Lysosomes and Autophagy: A Crucial Connection

Several studies have reported the significant contribution of lysosomes in autophagy [22][23, 24][25]. The increase in autophagosome numbers is not only due to the lysosome-dependent activation of mTORC1 but also caused by inhibiting lysosome-mediated proteolysis or autophagosome-lysosome fusion inhibition [1]. TFEB is a master regulator that controls the transcription of genes involved in lysosome biogenesis [26]. Altering the TFEB pathway could block autophagy flux by targeting lysosomes[25][23, 24]. In in vitro experiments, the inhibition of lysosome degradation by lysosomal inhibitors such as bafilomycin A1or chloroquine could be used interchangeably to block autophagy and assess autophagy flux [1]. Apart from these molecules, other noncanonical autophagy-related proteins have been demonstrated in the 'Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition).' For more details, refer to this guideline [1].