Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Landes Bioscience
Résumé : International audience
In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
Autophagy

hal-00735751
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00735751
PUBMED : 22966490

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Cumulative human impacts have led to the degradation of marine ecosystems and thedecline of biodiversity in the European and contiguous seas. Effective conservationmeasures are urgently needed to reverse these trends. Conservation must entail societalchoices, underpinned by human values and worldviews that differ between the countriesbordering these seas. Social, economic and political heterogeneity adds to the challenge ofbalancing conservation with sustainable use of the seas. Comprehensive macro-regionalcoordination is needed to ensure effective conservation of marine ecosystems andbiodiversity of this region. Under the European Union Horizon 2020 framework programme,the MarCons COST action aims to promote collaborative research to support marinemanagement, conservation planning and policy development. This will be achieved bydeveloping novel methods and tools to close knowledge gaps and advance marineconservation science. This action will provide support for the development of macro-regional and national policies through six key actions: to develop tools to analysecumulative human impacts; to identify critical scientific and technical gaps in conservationefforts; to improve the resilience of the marine environment to global change and biologicalinvasions; to develop frameworks for integrated conservation planning across terrestrial,freshwater, and marine environments; to coordinate marine conservation policy acrossnational boundaries; and to identify effective governance approaches for marine protectedarea management. Achieving the objectives of these actions will facilitate the integration ofmarine conservation policy into macro-regional maritime spatial planning agendas for theEuropean and contiguous seas, thereby offsetting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystemservices in this region.
Research Ideas and Outcomes

hal-01474085
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01474085
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01474085/document
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01474085/file/RIO_article_11884.pdf
DOI : 10.3897/rio.3.e11884