Fig. 1: Depiction of the three primary autophagic mechanisms.

Macroautophagy entails the generation of a phagophore that envelops the cargo, culminating in the formation of an autophagosome. This entity subsequently merges with a lysosome to create an autolysosome where degradation transpires. Microautophagy is portrayed by the direct engulfment of the substrate via the invagination of lysosomal or late endosomal membranes. Chaperone-mediated autophagy involves the recognition by the lysosome-associated receptor LAMP2A of specific cytosolic proteins harboring a KFERQ-like motif. The chaperone heat shock cognate protein 70 (Hsc70) aids in the translocation of these proteins into the lysosome for degradation.