pfam10186

UV radiation resistance protein and autophagy-related subunit 14; The Atg14 or Apg14 proteins are hydrophilic proteins with a predicted molecular mass of 40.5 kDa, and have a coiled-coil motif at the N terminus region. Yeast cells with mutant Atg14 are defective not only in autophagy but also in sorting of carboxypeptidase Y (CPY), a vacuolar-soluble hydrolase, to the vacuole. Subcellular fractionation indicate that Apg14p and Apg6p are peripherally associated with a membrane structure(s). Apg14p was co-immunoprecipitated with Apg6p, suggesting that they form a stable protein complex. These results imply that Apg6/Vps30p has two distinct functions: in the autophagic process and in the vacuolar protein sorting pathway. Apg14p may be a component specifically required for the function of Apg6/Vps30p through the autophagic pathway. There are 17 auto-phagosomal component proteins which are categorized into six functional units, one of which is the AS-PI3K complex (Vps30/Atg6 and Atg14). The AS-PI3K complex and the Atg2-Atg18 complex are essential for nucleation, and the specific function of the AS-PI3K apparently is to produce phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns(3)P) at the pre-autophagosomal structure (PAS). The localisation of this complex at the PAS is controlled by Atg14. Autophagy mediates the cellular response to nutrient deprivation, protein aggregation, and pathogen invasion in humans, and malfunction of autophagy has been implicated in multiple human diseases including cancer. This effect seems to be mediated through direct interaction of the human Atg14 with Beclin 1 in the human phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase class III complex.