Description
Product Characteristics:
A major contributor to cellular homeostasis is the ability of the cell to strike a balance between the formation and degradation/removal of its cellular components. This process of internal cellular turn-over is called autophagy (self-eating), and is facilitated by a pathway of around 16 interacting proteins in the human. LC3, a ubiquitin-like modifier protein, is the human homolog of yeast Apg8 and is involved in the formation of autophagosomal vacuoles, called autophagosomes. LC3 is expressed as 3 splice variants (LC3A, LC3B and LC3C), which exhibit different tissue distributions and are processed into cytosolic and autophagosomal membrane-bound forms, termed LC3-I and LC3-II, respectively. A disruption to the autophagic process is now associated with the progression of several cancers, neurodegenerative disorders and cardiac pathologies, where LC3 is widely employed as a marker for autophagy.
Subcellular location: Cytoplasm
Synonyms: MAP LC3 beta, LC3, Autophagy related protein LC3 A, Autophagy related protein LC3 B, Autophagy related ubiquitin like modier LC3 A, Autophagy related ubiquitin like modier LC3 B, MAP1 light chain 3 like protein 1, MAP1 light chain 3 like protein 2, MAP1A/1B light chain 3 A, MAP1A/1B light chain 3 B, MAP1A/1BLC3, MAP1A/MAP1B LC3 A, MAP1A/MAP1B LC3 B, MAP1ALC3, MAP1BLC3, MAP1LC3A, MAP1LC3B, Microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 alpha, Microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta, Microtubule associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3, Microtubule associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3A, Microtubule associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3B.microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3 beta 2
Target Information: The product of this gene is a subunit of neuronal microtubule-associated MAP1A and MAP1B proteins, which are involved in microtubule assembly and important for neurogenesis. Studies on the rat homolog implicate a role for this gene in autophagy, a process that involves the bulk degradation of cytoplasmic component. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]