Fig. 1

The basic mechanism of autophagy. Autophagy is a cellular process responsible for the degradation and recycling of intracellular components, encompassing three primary forms: macroautophagy, microautophagy, and CMA. Macroautophagy, in particular, serves as an intracellular self-digestion mechanism characterized by a complex sequence of events involving the coordinated action of multiple key proteins. This process can be delineated into four distinct stages: initiation of the autophagosome, elongation of the autophagosome, maturation or blocking of the autophagosome, and the fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes. (Created using Adobe Illustrator)