Autophagy Keeps the Balance in Tissue Homeostasis

Gut cells are exposed to diverse insults that necessitate their replacement from a stem cell pool balancing differentiation and proliferation. In this issue of Developmental Cell, Zhang and colleagues (2019) Zhang P. Holowatyj A.N. Roy T. Pronovost S.M. Marchetti M. Liu H. Ulrich C.M. Edgar B.A. An SH3PX1-dependent endocytosis/autophagy network restrains intestinal stem cell proliferation by counteracting EGFR-ERK signaling. Dev. Cell. 2019; 49 ( this issue) : 574-589 Google Scholar show autophagy-mediated regulation of EGFR signaling cell autonomously controls intestinal stem cell proliferation, with implications for human colorectal cancer development