PathScan^® RP Total Atg13 Sandwich ELISA Kit #57511

Autophagy is a catabolic process for the autophagosomic-lysosomal degradation of bulk cytoplasmic contents (1,2). Autophagy is generally activated by conditions of nutrient deprivation but has also been associated with a number of physiological processes including development, differentiation, neurodegeneration, infection, and cancer (3). The molecular machinery of autophagy was largely discovered in yeast and referred to as autophagy-related (Atg) genes.

Atg13/Apg13 was originally identified in yeast as a constitutively expressed protein that was genetically linked to Atg1/Apg1, a protein kinase required for autophagy (4). Overexpression of Atg1 suppresses the defects in autophagy observed in Atg13 mutants (4). Autophagy requires a direct association between Atg1 and Atg13, and is inhibited by TOR-dependent phosphorylation of Atg13 under high-nutrient conditions (5). Similarly, mammalian Atg13 forms a complex with the Atg1 homologues ULK1/2, along with FIP200, which localizes to autophagic isolation membranes and regulates autophagosome biogenesis (6-8). mTOR phosphorylates both Atg13 and ULK1, suppressing ULK1 kinase activity and autophagy (7-9). ULK1 can directly phosphorylate Atg13 at a yet unidentified site, presumably to promote autophagy (7,8). Additional studies suggest that Atg13 and FIP200 can function independently of ULK1 and ULK2 to induce autophagy through an unknown mechanism (10).