Vesicular transport in the autophagic route: RAB GTPases as pivotal regulators of autophagy.

Abstract

Autophagy is recognized as one of the two main intracellular recycling pathways that play an essential role in cellular homeostasis by maintaining accurate energy levels and carrying out quality control functions. One of the major autophagic mechanisms, the so-called macroautophagy, is involved in the lysosomal degradation of different cytoplasmic components, such as long-lived proteins and damaged or dysfunctional organelles. Numerous studies have demonstrated that participation of intracellular membrane trafficking events is key for the progression of autophagy. In this review, we will focus on the small GTPases of the RAS-related in brain protein family, which have a crucial role in vesicular transport.