Elucidating the mechanism of autophagosomes shaping with a flexible web

A research group led by Professor Nobuo Noda of Hokkaido University has reconstituted the membrane invagination process required to form autophagosomes in vitro for the first time, showing that this process is mediated by Atg8 protein that plays a central role in autophagy, and a group of enzymes that carry out its lipidation reaction.