Vacuolar Membrane Lipid Rafts and Autophagy under Oxidative Stress

The variations of the content of the main classes of lipids in the vacuolar membrane under oxidative stress have been investigated. The data obtained suggest the possibility of promoting the autophagy process. During autophagy, membrane contact sites, which are raft structures, have been established between tonoplast and autophagosomes. The results showed a significant increase in the content of raft-forming lipids (sterols, sphingolipids and lipids enriched with saturated fatty acids), what induce an elevation the number of membrane contact sites and activation of such a protective mechanism as autophagy under oxidative stress.