Autophagy-related protein 101

Autophagy-related protein 101 (ATG101) is a 218-amino-acid factor essential for autophagosome formation that functions by stabilizing ATG13 and protecting it from proteasomal degradation (UniProt: Q9BSB4). The protein plays a central role in the autophagy pathway, a major cellular degradation system involved in clearance of damaged organelles and protein aggregates.

ATG101 is implicated in Alzheimer's disease pathology. In post-mortem human AD brain tissue analyzed by quantitative proteomics (TMT-labeled, 4 subcellular fractions), ATG101 was significantly downregulated compared to age-matched controls, with a mean log2 fold-change of −0.776 (Chaparral AD proteomics). This reduction across the examined subcellular fractions suggests impaired autophagy capacity in AD brain, consistent with evidence that autophagy dysfunction contributes to accumulation of pathological proteins in neurodegeneration.