Methods for Measuring Autophagy Levels in Disease

Abstract Autophagy is a dynamic self-degradation process that plays a key role in many biological processes such as development, aging, and immunity. Emerging research in the area of cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases, and myopathies have constantly shown link of autophagy with these disease etiologies. The field has grown in the last decade to include researchers from diverse areas of biology and medicine with a multitude of assay methods being developed. As with this recent surge in the interests, it is imperative to assess the quality and robustness of the assay methods used in the autophagy detection. In this chapter we have discussed some of the widely used methods available to study autophagy both in vitro and in vivo models with emphasis on disease states. Furthermore the scope of some of emerging methods to study autophagy in disease-specific scenarios is discussed. As a growing number of commercial companies are now actively engaged in developing assay reagents for autophagy, a summary of the major kits/reagents used in this surging field of autophagy are also provided.