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Molecular Links Between Autophagy and Apoptosis

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Autophagosome and Phagosome

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology™ ((MIMB,volume 445))

summary

Macroautophagy (herein referred to as autophagy) contributes to the control of life and death throughout the animal and plant kingdoms. Bilateral links have been found between apoptosis and autophagy where inducers of apoptosis also induce autophagy and vice versa. In some cases, autophagy delays the onset of apoptosis and thus prolongs life although it may also promote apoptosis and other forms of cell death. It is thus of great biological and medical interest to understand the molecular connections between these two pathways, and try to utilize—or block—them selectively to aid induction of cell death (e.g., cancer cells) or inhibit death (e.g., in degenerative disorders). This chapter describes methods for studying apoptotic induction of autophagy and its effects on cell function. We also discuss potential pitfalls. Although cell lines are used as model systems, the substances and methods described here can be applied to primary cells and tissues.

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Acknowledgements

The work described here was supported by PG 064232 from the Wellcome Trust. We thank Nigel Miller, Department of Pathology, Cambridge University, for helping with the FACS protocol.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Iwona A. Ciechomska, Christoph G. Goemans & Aviva M. Tolkovsky

Authors
  1. Iwona A. Ciechomska
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  2. Christoph G. Goemans
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  3. Aviva M. Tolkovsky
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Vojo Deretic

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© 2008 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Ciechomska, I.A., Goemans, C.G., Tolkovsky, A.M. (2008). Molecular Links Between Autophagy and Apoptosis. In: Deretic, V. (eds) Autophagosome and Phagosome. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 445. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-157-4_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-157-4_12

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-853-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-157-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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