The insufficiency of ATG4A in macroautophagy.

During autophagy, LC3 and GABARAP proteins become covalently attached to phosphatidylethanolamine on the growing autophagosome. This attachment is also reversible. Deconjugation (or delipidation) involves the proteolytic cleavage of an isopeptide bond between LC3 or GABARAP and the phosphatidylethanolamine headgroup.