New targets for acetylation in autophagy.

Macroautophagy is an evolutionarily conserved homeostatic process that mediates the degradation of long-lived cytoplasmic components in eukaryotes, which allows cells to survive stresses such as inflammation, hypoxia, and deprivation of nutrients or growth factors. At least 30 members of the Atg (autophagy-related) protein family orchestrate this degradative process. Additional complexity resides in the signaling networks controlling the autophagic process, which include various posttranslational modifications of key components. Evidence is accumulating that protein acetylation represents an evolutionarily conserved mechanism tightly regulating macroautophagy.