title: AMBRA1-regulated autophagy in vertebrate development.
abstract: Autophagy is a catabolic process that mediates the lysosomal turn over of organelles and macromolecules, and is strongly activated in stress conditions to ensure cell survival. Autophagy core genes are highly conserved from yeast to mammals, with an increasing number of positive and negative regulators that have evolved in higher eukaryotes. Autophagy takes part in different stages of development, as revealed by alterations in cell proliferation, differentiation and survival during the embryogenesis of organisms carrying mutations in autophagy genes. These defects are ascribed to the ability of autophagy to provide elements for new synthesis or energy production in limiting conditions during embryogenesis, as well as to contribute to the profound cell remodeling that occurs during differentiation. However, many differences have been observed in the phenotypes of autophagy mutant organisms, indicating that these genes have acquired specific functions in particular tissues, which may reflect the ability of autophagy to crosstalk with the main developmental processes. In this review, we discuss the role of upstream regulators of autophagy in the development of different model systems, focusing, in particular, on AMBRA1 (autophagy/beclin-1 regulator-1) and its role in the central nervous system.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Infectious Diseases I.R.C.C.S. 'Lazzaro Spallanzani' Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Antonioli
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Albiero
authors.forename: Gian María
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Fimia
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piacentini
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001343:Autophagy / Q000502:physiology*; D000071189:Autophagy-Related Protein-1 Homolog; D000071186:Beclin-1; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000196:embryology*; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000196:embryology
chemical_list: C553334:AMBRA1 protein, human; D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; C491997:BECN1 protein, human; D000071186:Beclin-1; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C477012:MAP1LC3A protein, human; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D000071189:Autophagy-Related Protein-1 Homolog; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C484754:ULK1 protein, human