- He, Congcong;
- Wei, Yongjie;
- Sun, Kai;
- Li, Binghua;
- Dong, Xiaonan;
- Zou, Zhongju;
- Liu, Yang;
- Kinch, Lisa N;
- Khan, Shaheen;
- Sinha, Sangita;
- Xavier, Ramnik J;
- Grishin, Nick V;
- Xiao, Guanghua;
- Eskelinen, Eeva-Liisa;
- Scherer, Philipp E;
- Whistler, Jennifer L;
- Levine, Beth
The molecular mechanism of autophagy and its relationship to other lysosomal degradation pathways remain incompletely understood. Here, we identified a previously uncharacterized mammalian-specific protein, Beclin 2, which, like Beclin 1, functions in autophagy and interacts with class III PI3K complex components and Bcl-2. However, Beclin 2, but not Beclin 1, functions in an additional lysosomal degradation pathway. Beclin 2 is required for ligand-induced endolysosomal degradation of several G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) through its interaction with GASP1. Beclin 2 homozygous knockout mice have decreased embryonic viability, and heterozygous knockout mice have defective autophagy, increased levels of brain cannabinoid 1 receptor, elevated food intake, and obesity and insulin resistance. Our findings identify Beclin 2 as a converging regulator of autophagy and GPCR turnover and highlight the functional and mechanistic diversity of Beclin family members in autophagy, endolysosomal trafficking, and metabolism.