Beclin orthologs: Integrative hubs of cell signaling, membrane trafficking, and physiology

Beth Levine, Rong Liu, Xiaonan Dong, Qing Zhong

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

135 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Beclin family, including yeast Atg6 (autophagy related gene 6), its orthologs in higher eukaryotic species, and the more recently characterized mammalian-specific Beclin 2, are essential molecules in autophagy and other membrane-trafficking events. Extensive studies of Beclin orthologs have provided considerable insights into the regulation of autophagy, the diverse roles of autophagy in physiology and disease, and potential new strategies to modulate autophagy in a variety of clinical diseases. In this review we discuss the functions of Beclin orthologs, the regulation of such functions by diverse cellular signaling pathways, and the effects of such regulation on downstream cellular processes including tumor suppression and metabolism. These findings suggest that Beclin orthologs serve as crucial molecules that integrate diverse environmental signals with membrane trafficking events to ensure optimal responses of the cell to stressful stimuli.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)533-544
Number of pages12
JournalTrends in Cell Biology
Volume25
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2015

Keywords

  • Autophagic maturation
  • Autophagy
  • Endocytic maturation
  • Endolysosomal trafficking
  • LC3-associated phagocytosis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cell Biology

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