Beclin 1 antibody

The Beclin 1 protein is a central regulator of autophagy in mammalian cells. Autophagy is an essential process used to maintain cellular homeostasis by degrading and recycling cellular components such as damaged or worn out organelles and macromolecules. Autophagy is also activated in response to cellular stresses such as nutrient starvation or intracellular pathogens and can protect the cell from programmed cell death.

Beclin 1 is the first mammalian gene identified as a mediator of autophagy, and plays important roles in development, tumorigenesis, and neurodegeneration.

Beclin 1 is the mammalian orthologue of the yeast Apg6/Vps30 gene. Beclin 1 can complement the defect in autophagy present in apg6 yeast strains and stimulate autophagy when overexpressed in mammalian cells (1) and can bind to Bcl2, an important regulator of apoptosis (2) suggesting a role in two fundamentally important cellular pathways: autophagy and apoptosis.