title: Regulation of plasma membrane receptors by a new autophagy-related BECN/Beclin family member.
abstract: We have recently shown the roles of an autophagy gene in the regulation of metabolism and metabolic diseases. We identified Becn2/Beclin 2, a novel mammalian specific homolog of Becn1/Beclin 1, characterized the functions of the gene product in autophagy and agonist-induced lysosome-mediated downregulation of a subset of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and proposed a model of dual functions of BECN2 in these 2 lysosomal degradation pathways. Further analyses revealed that knockout of Becn2 dramatically decreases embryonic survival in homozygotes, and leads to metabolic dysregulation in heterozygotes, which is likely caused by disruption of GPCR signaling. This finding suggests that besides autophagy, BECN/Beclin family members may play a role in the regulation of a broader spectrum of intracellular signaling pathways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology; Feinberg School of Medicine; Northwestern University; Chicago, IL USA.
authors.forename: Weiran
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology; Feinberg School of Medicine; Northwestern University; Chicago, IL USA.
authors.forename: Congcong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface
keywords: BECN2/Beclin 2; GPCR; autophagy; lysosome; metabolism