ATG4A and infection: Further, we examined the levels of the autophagosome initiation complex (ULK1, UVRAG, Beclin 1, and ATG14), the autophagosome elongation complex (ATG3, ATG4A, ATG4B, ATG12, and ATG16L), and the autophagosome maturation complex (LC3B, LC3A, GABARAP, ATG5, and ATG7), as well as the apoptosis-related genes B-cell lymphoma extra large (Bcl-xL), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), apoptotic protease activating factor 1 (Apaf-1), and caspase 3, in addition to the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin 6 (IL6) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) in the lung and spleen tissues following infection with NDV.