Measuring autophagy in macrophages.

Macroautophagy is a conserved intracellular homeostatic mechanism for the degradation of cytosolic constituents. Autophagy can promote cell survival by providing essential amino acids from the breakdown of macromolecules during periods of nutrient deprivation, and can remove damaged or excess organelles, such as mitochondria and peroxisomes. More recently, autophagy has been shown to play an important role in innate and adaptive immune responses to pathogenic bacteria in macrophages and dendritic cells. This unit presents protocols for the measurement of autophagy in macrophages.