摘要：SummaryAutophagy is an intracellular degradation process that is mediated byde novoformation of autophagosomes. Autophagosome formation involves dynamic morphological changes; a disk-shaped membrane cisterna grows, bends to become a cup-shaped structure, and finally develops into a spherical autophagosome. We have constructed a theoretical model that integrates the membrane morphological change and entropic partitioning of putative curvature generators, which we have used to investigate the autophagosome formation process quantitatively. We show that the membrane curvature and the distribution of the curvature generators stabilize disk- and cup-shaped intermediate structures during autophagosome formation, which is quantitatively consistent within vivoobservations. These results suggest that various autophagy proteins with membrane curvature-sensing properties control morphological change by stabilizing these intermediate structures. Our model provides a framework for understanding autophagosome formation.Graphical AbstractDisplay OmittedHighlights•A model of morphological transition during autophagosome formation is established•A dynamic distribution of curvature generators stabilizes cup-shaped intermediates•An abundance of curvature generators regulates the size of autophagosomes•The model is quantitively consistent within vivoobservationsBiophysics; Cell Biology; Molecular Biology; Membrane Architecture
