Difference Between Autophagy and Phagocytosis

The difference between autophagy and phagocytosis are given below:

Feature	Autophagy	Phagocytosis
Definition	Cellular process of self-degradation	Cellular process of engulfing particles
Purpose	Degrades and recycles cellular components	Engulfs and digests extracellular material
Type of Material	Self-derived, intracellular components	External, extracellular particles
Mechanism	Involves formation of autophagosomes	Formation of pseudopods for engulfment
Selectivity	Can be selective or non-selective.	Can be selective or non-selective
Organelle Involvement	Lysosomes and autophagosomes	Phagosomes and lysosomes
Cellular Response	Response to stress, starvation, and aging	Response to infection and foreign bodies
Role in Health	Maintains cellular homeostasis and health	Part of immune response and defense

Autophagy

Autophagy comes from Greek words “auto” (self) and “phagy” (eating), which means cells eating themselves. Autophagy is a process where cells get rid of damaged parts to stay healthy. The various types of autophagy include macroautophagy, microautophagy, and chaperone-mediated autophagy. In this article, we will cover in-depth about autophagy types, examples, and more.

Table of Content

Autophagy Meaning
Autophagy Mechanism
Autophagy Causes
Autophagy Functions
Types of Autophagy

Macroautophagy
Microautophagy
Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy (CMA)
Selective Autophagy
Mitophagy
Pexophagy
Lipophagy
Cytophagy