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PMID: 20356743 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Review

The Beclin 1-VPS34 complex--at the crossroads of autophagy and beyond.

Trends in cell biology ·Vol. 20 ·No. 6 ·2010-06-00 ·Pages 355-62

Funderburk SF, Wang QJ, Yue Z

Abstract

An increasing body of research on autophagy provides overwhelming evidence for its connection to diverse biological functions and human diseases. Beclin 1, the first mammalian autophagy protein to be described, appears to act as a nexus point between autophagy, endosomal, and perhaps also cell death pathways. Beclin 1 performs these roles as part of a core complex that contains vacuolar sorting protein 34 (VPS34), a class III phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase. The precise mechanism of Beclin 1-mediated regulation of these cellular functions is unclear, but substantial progress has recently been made in identifying new players and their functions in Beclin 1-VSP34 complexes. Here we review emerging studies that are beginning to unveil the physiological functions of Beclin 1-VPS34 in the central control of autophagic activity and other trafficking events through the formation of distinct Beclin 1-VPS34 protein complexes.

MeSH Terms
Animals Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins/metabolism Autophagy Humans Membrane Proteins/metabolism Multiprotein Complexes/metabolism Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism
Chemicals
Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins Membrane Proteins Multiprotein Complexes Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Funderburk Sarah F
Department of Neurology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Wang Qing Jun
Yue Zhenyu
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Article Info
Journal
Trends in cell biology
Abbr.
Trends Cell Biol
ISSN
1879-3088
DOI
10.1016/j.tcb.2010.03.002
Published
2010-06-00
Epub
2010-00-29
Pages
355-62
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
9200566
PMCID
PMC3781210
Subset
IM
Grants
NINDS NIH HHS · R01 NS060123 · United States
NCRR NIH HHS · 2P20RR020171 · United States
NINDS NIH HHS · R01NS060123 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2010.03.002 PMC Full Text View journal details
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