Mizushima Noboru, Sahani Mayurbhai Himatbhai
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Graduate School and Faculty of Medicine; University of Tokyo; Tokyo, Japan.
Autophagy. 2014 Sep;10(9):1487-94. doi: 10.4161/auto.32183. Epub 2014 Aug 4.
The ATG genes are highly conserved in eukaryotes including yeasts, plants, and mammals. However, these genes appear to be only partially present in most protists. Recent studies demonstrated that, in the apicomplexan parasites Plasmodium (malaria parasites) and Toxoplasma, ATG8 localizes to the apicoplast, a unique nonphotosynthetic plastid with 4 limiting membranes. In contrast to this established localization, it remains unclear whether these parasites can induce canonical macroautophagy and if ATG8 localizes to autophagosomes. Furthermore, the molecular function of ATG8 in its novel workplace, the apicoplast, is totally unknown. Here, we review recent studies on ATG8 in Plasmodium and Toxoplasma, summarize both consensus and controversial findings, and discuss its potential role in these parasites.
自噬相关基因（ATG基因）在包括酵母、植物和哺乳动物在内的真核生物中高度保守。然而，这些基因在大多数原生生物中似乎只是部分存在。最近的研究表明，在顶复门寄生虫疟原虫（疟疾病原体）和弓形虫中，自噬相关蛋白8（ATG8）定位于顶质体，这是一种具有4层限制膜的独特非光合质体。与这种已确定的定位相反，这些寄生虫是否能诱导典型的巨自噬以及ATG8是否定位于自噬体仍不清楚。此外，ATG8在其新的工作场所顶质体中的分子功能完全未知。在这里，我们综述了关于疟原虫和弓形虫中ATG8的最新研究，总结了一致和有争议的发现，并讨论了其在这些寄生虫中的潜在作用。
