The ATG5 protein belongs to the ATG autophagy regulator family. This family controls the highly conserved cell's homeostatic response to a wide variety of both self- and foreign-originating cellular stimuli. ATG5 itself is ubiquitously expressed in most cells and most often found co-localized with the cytoplasmic non-muscle actin protein under normal resting conditions. Upon activation of apoptosis, ATG5 expression is then dramatically intensified, with ATG5 directly complexing with its ATG family members to produce autophagosomes.
