Analysis of relevant parameters for autophagic flux using HeLa cells expressing EGFP-LC3

Abstract

Macroautophagy (called just autophagy hereafter) is an intracellular degradation machinery essential for cell survival under stress conditions and for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. The hallmark of autophagy is the formation of double membrane vesicles that engulf cytoplasmic material. These vesicles, called autophagosomes, mature by fusion with endosomes and lysosomes that allows the degradation of the cargo. Autophagy is a dynamic process regulated at multiple steps. Assessment of autophagy is not trivial because the number autophagosomes might not necessarily reflect the real level of autophagic degradation, the so-called autophagic flux. Here, we describe an optimized protocol for the analysis of relevant parameters of autophagic flux using HeLa cells stably expressing EGFP-LC3. These cells are a convenient tool to determine the influence of the downregulation or overexpression of specific proteins in the autophagic flux as well as the analysis of autophagy-modulating compounds. Western blot analysis of relevant parameters, such as the levels of EGFP-LC3, free EGFP generated by autophagic degradation and endogenous LC3·I–II are analyzed in the presence and absence of the autophagic inhibitor chloroquine.