The phagophore in four dimensions-a study in wood.

One of the key features of macroautophagy/autophagy is the dynamic nature of the membrane rearrangements that take place during expansion of the phagophore, the sequestering compartment that matures into an autophagosome. There are various ways to depict this process, but in most cases the method ultimately relies on a two-dimensional medium. Most people working in the field of autophagy realize that the typical 'C'-shaped drawing of a phagophore is meant to represent a cup- or bowl-like structure that exists in the cell in 3 dimensions. However, explaining this concept to a lay person often leads to confusion and misinterpretation. Accordingly, we decided to generate a four-dimensional version of the expanding phagophore as a wood sculpture, that depicts this transient compartment in 3 dimensions over time. ABBREVIATIONS: ER: endoplasmic reticulum.