Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Study of Protein-protein Interactions in Autophagy Research
Published on: September 9, 2017
Crosstalk between apoptosis and autophagy within the Beclin 1 interactome
Maria Chiara Maiuri1, Alfredo Criollo, Guido Kroemer
1INSERM U848, Institut G Roussy, Villejuif, France.
Abstract:
Although the essential genes for autophagy (Atg) have been identified, the molecular mechanisms through which Atg proteins control 'self eating' in mammalian cells remain elusive. Beclin 1 (Bec1), the mammalian orthologue of yeast Atg6, is part of the class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) complex that induces autophagy. The first among an increasing number of Bec1-interacting proteins that has been identified is the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. The dissociation of Bec1 from Bcl-2 is essential for its autophagic activity, and Bcl-2 only inhibits autophagy when it is present in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). A paper in this issue of the EMBO Journal has identified a novel protein, NAF-1 (nutrient-deprivation autophagy factor-1), that binds Bcl-2 at the ER. NAF-1 is a component of the inositol-1,4,5 trisphosphate (IP3) receptor complex, which contributes to the interaction of Bcl-2 with Bec1 and is required for Bcl-2 to functionally antagonize Bec1-mediated autophagy. This work provides mechanistic insights into how autophagy- and apoptosis-regulatory molecules crosstalk at the ER.
Related Concept Videos
Autophagy
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
The Extrinsic Apoptotic Pathway
The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway
Phagocytosis of Apoptotic Cells
Normal cells contain receptors that prevent them from being recognized...
Autophagic Cell Death
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and...
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...

