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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Exploring the Regulation of Lipid Droplet Catabolism through Lipophagy

Exploring the Regulation of Lipid Droplet Catabolism through Lipophagy

Published on: January 31, 2025

Open and closed HORMAs regulate autophagy initiation.

Hironori Suzuki¹, Takeshi Kaizuka², Noboru Mizushima²

¹a Institute of Microbial Chemistry (BIKAKEN) ; Tokyo , Japan.

|September 22, 2015

Summary

The study reveals the structure of Atg101, a key protein in autophagy initiation. This finding clarifies how Atg101 and Atg13 work together to start the crucial cellular process of autophagy.

Keywords:

Atg101 Atg13 HORMA ULK complex autophagy initiation crystal structure

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Live Cell Imaging of Early Autophagy Events: Omegasomes and Beyond

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Last Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Exploring the Regulation of Lipid Droplet Catabolism through Lipophagy

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Published on: January 31, 2025

The Lactate Dehydrogenase Sequestration Assay — A Simple and Reliable Method to Determine Bulk Autophagic Sequestration Activity in Mammalian Cells

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Published on: July 27, 2018

Live Cell Imaging of Early Autophagy Events: Omegasomes and Beyond

Live Cell Imaging of Early Autophagy Events: Omegasomes and Beyond

Published on: July 27, 2013

Area of Science:

Cellular Biology
Molecular Biology
Biochemistry

Background:

Autophagy is a fundamental cellular process for degrading and recycling cellular components.
The Atg1/ULK complex initiates autophagy, with ATG101 being a crucial, yet structurally uncharacterized, component in most eukaryotes.
Understanding ATG101's structure is vital for elucidating autophagy initiation mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine the three-dimensional structure of fission yeast Atg101.
To investigate the structural relationship between Atg101 and Atg13.
To elucidate the role of these HORMA proteins in autophagy initiation.

Main Methods:

X-ray crystallography was employed to determine the structure of the Atg101-Atg13 complex.
Structural analysis focused on the HORMA domains of both proteins.

Main Results:

The crystal structure of fission yeast Atg101 in complex with the HORMA domain of Atg13 was determined.
Atg101 was revealed to be a HORMA protein adopting an open conformation.
Both Atg101 and Atg13, as HORMA proteins, are essential for recruiting downstream factors to the autophagosome formation site.

Conclusions:

The structural determination of Atg101 provides new insights into its function within the Atg1/ULK complex.
The interaction between the open conformation of Atg101 and the closed conformation of Atg13 is critical for autophagy initiation.
This study advances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing the initiation of autophagy.