Beclin-1 / ATG genes
DEBeclin-1 / ATG-Gene
Beclin-1 (made by the BECN1 gene) is a core part of the machinery that starts autophagy in your cells. It belongs to a complex (the class III PI3K, or VPS34, complex) that nucleates the first membrane of the autophagosome. Its activity is tuned by interactions with BCL-2 proteins, UVRAG, and Rubicon. The broader ATG ('autophagy-related') gene family, about 40 genes in yeast with mammalian counterparts, encodes the rest of the machinery. Some genes elongate the membrane (ATG5, ATG12, ATG16L1). Some add lipids (ATG7, ATG3). And some close it up (ATG2, ATG9). Beclin-1 is deleted on one chromosome in many breast and ovarian cancers, which implicates autophagy in suppressing tumors. And a broad decline in Beclin-1 and other ATG gene activity in your aging tissues is proposed to contribute to the failing autophagy seen with age.
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Sources
- Liang et al.. (1999). Induction of autophagy and inhibition of tumorigenesis by beclin 1. *Nature*doi:10.1038/45257
- Mizushima & Komatsu. (2011). Autophagy: Renovation of Cells and Tissues. *Cell*doi:10.1016/j.cell.2011.10.026