Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

Study of Protein-protein Interactions in Autophagy Research
Published on: September 9, 2017
A tethering coherent protein in autophagosome maturation
1Division of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Autophagy is a cellular pathway that degrades damaged organelles, cytosol and microorganisms, thereby maintaining human health by preventing various diseases including cancers, neurodegenerative disorders and diabetes. In autophagy, autophagosomes carrying cellular cargoes fuse with lysosomes for degradation. The proper autophagosome-lysosome fusion is pivotal for efficient autophagy activity. However, the molecular mechanism that specifically directs the fusion process is not clear. Our study reported that lysosome-localized TECPR1 (TECtonin β-Propeller Repeat containing 1) binds the autophagosome-localized ATG12-ATG5 conjugate and recruits it to autolysosomes. TECPR1 also binds PtdIns3P in an ATG12-ATG5-dependent manner. Consequently, depletion of TECPR1 leads to a severe defect in autophagosome maturation. We propose that the interaction between TECPR1 and ATG12-ATG5 initiates the fusion between the autophagosome and lysosome, and TECPR1 is a TEthering Coherent PRotein in autophagosome maturation.
Related Concept Videos
Vesicular Tubular Clusters
With the help of motor proteins such...
Tail-anchoring of Proteins in the ER Membrane
Autophagy
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
Coat Assembly and GTPases
Coat assembly depends on the local availability of phosphatidylinositol phosphates or PIPs and GTP-binding proteins. Adaptor proteins, which link the coat proteins to the membrane, bind to these PIPs and play a crucial role in controlling...
Clathrin Coated Vesicles
Cotranslational Protein Translocation
Sec61 channel partners for cotranslational translocation
During cotranslational translocation, the Sec61 channel partners with the signal recognition particle (SRP), the signal recognition particle receptor (SR), and the ribosomes to transport the nascent polypeptide chain...

