Autophagy Proteins in Viral Exocytosis and Anti-Viral Immune Responses

Autophagy-related (Atg) gene-encoded proteins were originally described for their crucial role in macroautophagy, a catabolic pathway for cytoplasmic constituent degradation in lysosomes. Recently it has become clear that modules of this machinery can also be used to influence endo- and exocytosis. This mini review discusses how these alternative Atg functions support virus replication and viral antigen presentation on major histocompatibility (MHC) class I and II molecules. A better understanding of the modular use of the macroautophagy machinery might enable us to manipulate these alternative functions of Atg proteins during anti-viral therapies and to attenuate virus-induced immune pathologies.