Autophagosomes

Eukaryotic cells employ autophagy to degrade damaged or obsolete organelles and proteins. Central to this process is the formation of autophagosomes, double-membrane vesicles responsible for delivering cytoplasmic material to lysosomes. In all types of autophagy, a core molecular machinery has a critical role in forming sequestering vesicles, the autophagosome, which is the hallmark morphological feature of this dynamic process. During autophagy, an expanding membrane sac termed the phagophore enwraps portions of the cytoplasm. This leads to the formation of double-membrane-bound, sequestering vesicles, called autophagosomes.
Xie & Klionsky 2007 Nat Cell Biol …