Peroxisome degradation and its molecular machinery

Abstract

Peroxisomal metabolism and its regulation play important roles in various cellular functions. The regulation of peroxisomal metabolism is controlled by modulation of peroxisome biogenesis as well as the degradation of intra-organellar components and the organelle itself. An accumulation of experimental findings demonstrate that the majority of organelle degradation is accomplished through autophagy, an important cellular process involving transport of cytoplasmic constituents into lysosomes for degradation. The first part of this chapter discusses several processes responsible for the degradation of peroxisomes in mammalian cells, including autophagy. Next, following a general description of the molecular machinery of autophagy, molecular details of selective autophagy of peroxisomes, termed pexophagy, are described based on studies conducted in yeast and mammalian cells. In the final section, expected medical applications associated with pexophagy are described along with potential future developments in this field.