Abstract
Beclin 1 has been recently shown to possess a Bcl-2 homology-3 (BH3) domain that mediates its interaction with antiapoptotic multidomain proteins. Unlike other BH3-only proteins, Beclin 1 fails to stimulate apoptosis when it is overexpressed. In this issue of Oncogene, Ciechomska et al. report the intriguing finding that Bcl-2, as it interacts with Beclin 1, does not lose its anti-apoptotic potential. This finding may have far-reaching implications for the comprehension of the cross-talk between apoptosis and autophagy.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
The crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis was mediated by phosphorylation of Bcl-2 and beclin1 in benzene-induced hematotoxicity
Cell Death & Disease Open Access 10 October 2019
-
Caspase-mediated cleavage of Beclin-1 inactivates Beclin-1-induced autophagy and enhances apoptosis by promoting the release of proapoptotic factors from mitochondria
Cell Death & Disease Open Access 21 January 2010
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 50 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $5.18 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Adams JM, Cory S . (2007). The Bcl-2 apoptotic switch in cancer development and therapy. Oncogene 26: 1324–1337.
Billen LP, Kokoski CL, Lovell JF, Leber B, Andrews DW . (2008). Bcl-XL inhibits membrane permeabilization by competing with Bax. PLoS Biol 6: e147.
Ciechomska AI, Goemans CG, Skepper JN, Tolkovsky AM . (2009). Bcl-2 complexed with Beclin-1 maintains full anti-apoptotic function. Oncogene (in press).
Feng W, Huang S, Wu H, Zhang M . (2007). Molecular basis of Bcl-xL's target recognition versatility revealed by the structure of Bcl-xL in complex with the BH3 domain of Beclin-1. J Mol Biol 372: 223–235.
Kroemer G, Levine B . (2008). Autophagic cell death: the story of a misnomer. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 9: 1004–1010.
Levine B, Sinha S, Kroemer G . (2008). Bcl-2 family members: dual regulators of apoptosis and autophagy. Autophagy 4: 600–606.
Liang XH, Jackson S, Seaman M, Brown K, Kempkes B, Hibshoosh H et al. (1999). Induction of autophagy and inhibition of tumorigenesis by beclin 1. Nature 402: 672–676.
Maiuri MC, Le Toumelin G, Criollo A, Rain JC, Gautier F, Juin P et al. (2007). Functional and physical interaction between Bcl-X(L) and a BH3-like domain in Beclin-1. EMBO J 26: 2527–2539.
Oberstein A, Jeffrey PD, Shi Y . (2007). Crystal structure of the Bcl-XL-Beclin 1 peptide complex: Beclin 1 is a novel BH3-only protein. J Biol Chem 282: 13123–13132.
Pattingre S, Tassa A, Qu X, Garuti R, Liang XH, Mizushima N et al. (2005). Bcl-2 antiapoptotic proteins inhibit Beclin 1-dependent autophagy. Cell 122: 927–939.
Wei Y, Pattingre S, Sinha S, Bassik M, Levine B . (2008). JNK1-mediated phosphorylation of Bcl-2 regulates starvation-induced autophagy. Mol Cell 30: 678–688.
Zalckvar E, Berissi H, Mizrachy L, Idelchuk Y, Koren I, Eisenstein M et al. (2009). DAP-kinase-mediated phosphorylation on the BH3 domain of beclin 1 promotes dissociation of beclin 1 from Bcl-X(L) and induction of autophagy. EMBO Rep 30: 30.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Boya, P., Kroemer, G. Beclin 1: a BH3-only protein that fails to induce apoptosis. Oncogene 28, 2125–2127 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/onc.2009.83
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/onc.2009.83
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Proteotoxic stress-induced autophagy is regulated by the NRF2 pathway via extracellular vesicles
Cell Stress and Chaperones (2023)
-
The crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis was mediated by phosphorylation of Bcl-2 and beclin1 in benzene-induced hematotoxicity
Cell Death & Disease (2019)
-
Stress-induced self-cannibalism: on the regulation of autophagy by endoplasmic reticulum stress
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences (2013)
-
BH3 mimetics activate multiple pro-autophagic pathways
Oncogene (2011)
-
Mitochondrial BCL-2 inhibits AMBRA1-induced autophagy
The EMBO Journal (2011)