WIPI2 polyclonal antibody

Autophagy is a catabolic process for the autophagosomic-lysosomal degradation of bulk cytoplasmic contents . It is generally activated by conditions of nutrient deprivation but is also associated with a number of physiological processes including development, differentiation, neurodegeneration, infection, and cancer . The molecular machinery of autophagy was largely discovered in yeast and is directed by a number of autophagy-related (Atg) genes. Vacuolar trafficking and autophagy are controlled by the class III type phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) Vps34, which generates phosphoinositide-3-phosphate (PtdIns3P) . Atg18 and Atg21 are two related WD-repeat proteins that bind PtdIns3P via a conserved Phe-Arg-Arg-Gly motif . It has been shown that Atg18 binds to Atg2 and that this complex is directed to vacuolar membranes by its interaction with PtdIns3P (8) . Human orthologs of Atg18 and Atg21 were identified as members of the WD-repeat protein Interacting with Phosphoinositides (WIPI) family . WIPI1 (also called WIPI49) and WIPI2 have been shown to translocate from several vacuolar compartments to LC3-positive autophagosomes during autophagy; this translocation may be used as an autophagy marker .