Autophagy-related protein 2 homolog B

ATG2B (Autophagy-related protein 2 homolog B) is a lipid transfer protein essential for autophagosome biogenesis and lipid droplet regulation (UniProt: Q96BY7). It functions by tethering the isolation membrane to the endoplasmic reticulum and mediating phospholipid transfer from the ER to expanding autophagosomes, a process enhanced by the binding partner WDR45/WIPI4 (UniProt: Q96BY7). The protein plays a central role in autophagy, a critical cellular pathway for protein and organelle degradation.

ATG2B is expressed in human tissues and participates broadly in autophagy and lipid homeostasis pathways (UniProt: Q96BY7). No specific disease annotations are documented in the UniProt record for this protein.

In Alzheimer's Disease, ATG2B is significantly downregulated in post-mortem AD brain tissue compared to age-matched controls (mean log2FC: −0.6148; Chaparral AD proteomics). This reduction was observed across subcellular fractions in a TMT-labeled proteomics study, suggesting compromised autophagy capacity may contribute to AD pathology, as impaired autophagy is implicated in amyloid-β and tau accumulation.