Phosphorylation of Beclin 1 by DAP-kinase promotes autophagy by weakening its interactions with Bcl-2 and Bcl-X_L

Beclin 1, an essential autophagic protein, is a BH3-only protein that binds Bcl-2 anti-apoptotic family members. The dissociation of Beclin 1 from the Bcl-2inhibitors is essential for its autophagic activity, and therefore is tightly controlled. We recently revealed a novel phosphorylation-based mechanism by which DeathAssociated Protein Kinase (DAPk) regulates this process. We found that DAPk phosphorylates Beclin 1 on T119, a critical residue...