6Lysine modifications and autophagy

Nutrient deprivation or cellular stress leads to the activation of a catabolic path-way that is conserved across species, known as autophagy. This process is consid-ered to be adaptive and plays an important role in a number of cellular processes, including metabolism, immunity and development. Autophagy has also been linked to diseases, such as cancer and neurodegeneration, highlighting the impor-tance of a better insight into its regulation. In the present chapter, we discuss how PTMs (post-translational modifi cations) of lysine residues by acetylation and ubiquitination alter the function of key proteins involved in the activation, maturation and substrate selectivity of autophagy. We also discuss the clinical potential of targeting these modifi cations to modulate autophagic activities