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Cell Imaging Techniques pp 449–466Cite as

Morphological Analysis of Autophagy

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 931))

Abstract

Autophagy is a bulk intracellular degradation process that is ubiquitous in eukaryotic cells and helps to recycle nutrients from catabolites by degrading proteins, lipids, and glycans, including organelles. Since autophagy has divergent physiological roles in cancer, infection, immunity, and other processes, it is important to accurately analyze autophagic activity. In this chapter, we describe methods that can be used to monitor autophagy in cultured mammalian cells by immunostaining and using fluorescently tagged autophagy-related proteins such as GFP- or mRFP-GFP-tandem-tagged proteins as well as electron microscopic methods, including electron tomography and immuno-electron microscopy.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, and by the Takeda Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan

    Keisuke Tabata, Takeshi Noda & Tamotsu Yoshimori

  2. Laboratory of Intracellular Membrane Dynamics, Graduate School of Frontier Bioscience, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

    Keisuke Tabata, Takeshi Noda & Tamotsu Yoshimori

  3. Laboratory of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan

    Mitsuko Hayashi-Nishino

  4. Nagahama Institute of Bio-Science and Technology, Nagahama, Shiga, Japan

    Akitsugu Yamamoto

Authors
  1. Keisuke Tabata
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  2. Mitsuko Hayashi-Nishino
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  3. Takeshi Noda
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  4. Akitsugu Yamamoto
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  5. Tamotsu Yoshimori
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tamotsu Yoshimori .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Medicine, Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Vermont, Beaumont Ave 89, Burlington, 05405-1742, Vermont, USA

    Douglas J. Taatjes

  2. , Abt. Zell- und Molekularpathologie, Universität Zürich, Schmelzbergstr. 12, Zürich, 8091, Switzerland

    Jürgen Roth

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Tabata, K., Hayashi-Nishino, M., Noda, T., Yamamoto, A., Yoshimori, T. (2012). Morphological Analysis of Autophagy. In: Taatjes, D., Roth, J. (eds) Cell Imaging Techniques. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 931. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-056-4_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-056-4_23

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-055-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-056-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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