BECN1 Gene

Name	beclin 1, autophagy related
Description	This gene encodes a protein that regulates autophagy, a catabolic process of degradation induced by starvation. The encoded protein is a component of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) complex which mediates vesicle-trafficking processes. This protein is thought to play a role in multiple cellular processes, including tumorigenesis, neurodegeneration and apoptosis. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Sep 2015]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Beclin 1 (BECN1) is a pivotal autophagy regulator that functions as a core component of the class III phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase complex and is essential for the nucleation and formation of autophagosomes. Genetic inactivation studies have demonstrated that complete loss of BECN1 disrupts autophagy and causes early embryonic lethality, whereas even haploinsufficiency predisposes to spontaneous tumor development—establishing BECN1 as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n At the molecular level, BECN1 mediates autophagy induction by serving as a scaffold to assemble distinct Vps34 complexes that are required for different stages of the autophagic cascade."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "3", "end_ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Its activity is tightly controlled by protein–protein interactions: anti‐apoptotic proteins such as Bcl‑2 and Bcl‑X(L) bind BECN1 via its BH3 domain to inhibit autophagy."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Stress‑responsive kinases—including death‐associated protein kinase and Akt—phosphorylate BECN1, which disrupts its binding to these inhibitors and thereby promotes autophagy."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "8"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n The regulatory functions of BECN1 have broad pathophysiological implications. Impaired BECN1-dependent autophagy is linked to neurodegeneration and protein aggregate accumulation in Alzheimer’s disease"}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "10"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ", and targeted delivery of BECN1 can ameliorate synaptic pathology in models of Parkinson’s disease."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "11"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In addition, pathogens have evolved mechanisms to inhibit BECN1 function; for example, the herpes simplex virus neurovirulence factor ICP34.5 binds BECN1 to block autophagy, thereby promoting viral survival."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "12"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Collectively, these findings position BECN1 as a central node that integrates metabolic, stress, and oncogenic signals to regulate autophagy and maintain cellular homeostasis. As a nexus for controlling the turnover of proteins and organelles, BECN1 is critically involved in tumor suppression, neuroprotection, and host defense. Strategies that modulate BECN1 activity and its interactions may thus hold significant therapeutic potential in cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and infectious diseases.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Xueping Qu, Jie Yu, Govind Bhagat, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Promotion of tumorigenesis by heterozygous disruption of the beclin 1 autophagy gene."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Clin Invest (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1172/JCI20039"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI20039"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "14638851"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14638851"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Zhenyu Yue, Shengkan Jin, Chingwen Yang, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Beclin 1, an autophagy gene essential for early embryonic development, is a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1073/pnas.2436255100"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2436255100"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "14657337"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14657337"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ryan C Russell, Ye Tian, Haixin Yuan, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ULK1 induces autophagy by phosphorylating Beclin-1 and activating VPS34 lipid kinase."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nat Cell Biol (2013)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/ncb2757"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb2757"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "23685627"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23685627"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Kohichi Matsunaga, Tatsuya Saitoh, Keisuke Tabata, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Two Beclin 1-binding proteins, Atg14L and Rubicon, reciprocally regulate autophagy at different stages."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nat Cell Biol (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/ncb1846"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1846"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19270696"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19270696"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yun Zhong, Qing Jun Wang, Xianting Li, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Distinct regulation of autophagic activity by Atg14L and Rubicon associated with Beclin 1-phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase complex."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nat Cell Biol (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/ncb1854"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1854"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19270693"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19270693"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "M Chiara Maiuri, Gaëtane Le Toumelin, Alfredo Criollo, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Functional and physical interaction between Bcl-X(L) and a BH3-like domain in Beclin-1."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "EMBO J (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/sj.emboj.7601689"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.emboj.7601689"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17446862"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17446862"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yongjie Wei, Sophie Pattingre, Sangita Sinha, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "JNK1-mediated phosphorylation of Bcl-2 regulates starvation-induced autophagy."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Cell (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.molcel.2008.06.001"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2008.06.001"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18570871"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18570871"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Einat Zalckvar, Hanna Berissi, Liat Mizrachy, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "DAP-kinase-mediated phosphorylation on the BH3 domain of beclin 1 promotes dissociation of beclin 1 from Bcl-XL and induction of autophagy."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "EMBO Rep (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/embor.2008.246"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/embor.2008.246"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19180116"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19180116"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Richard C Wang, Yongjie Wei, Zhenyi An, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Akt-mediated regulation of autophagy and tumorigenesis through Beclin 1 phosphorylation."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Science (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1126/science.1225967"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1225967"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "23112296"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23112296"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Fiona Pickford, Eliezer Masliah, Markus Britschgi, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The autophagy-related protein beclin 1 shows reduced expression in early Alzheimer disease and regulates amyloid beta accumulation in mice."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Clin Invest (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1172/JCI33585"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI33585"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18497889"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18497889"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 11, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Brian Spencer, Rewati Potkar, Margarita Trejo, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Beclin 1 gene transfer activates autophagy and ameliorates the neurodegenerative pathology in alpha-synuclein models of Parkinson's and Lewy body diseases."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Neurosci (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4390-09.2009"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4390-09.2009"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19864570"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19864570"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 12, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Anthony Orvedahl, Diane Alexander, Zsolt Tallóczy, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "HSV-1 ICP34.5 confers neurovirulence by targeting the Beclin 1 autophagy protein."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell Host Microbe (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.chom.2006.12.001"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2006.12.001"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18005679"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18005679"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	ATG6, VPS30, BECLIN1
Proteins	BECN1_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	8678
API
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

BECN1 has 11,858 functional associations with biological entities spanning 8 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA) extracted from 116 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for BECN1 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

BECN1 Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of BECN1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of BECN1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of BECN1 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of BECN1 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of BECN1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of BECN1 gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of BECN1 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of BECN1 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of BECN1 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of BECN1 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with BECN1 protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of BECN1 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of BECN1 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of BECN1 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of BECN1 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing BECN1 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing BECN1 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with BECN1 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with BECN1 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of BECN1 gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with BECN1 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with BECN1 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with BECN1 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by BECN1 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with BECN1 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with BECN1 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with BECN1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with BECN1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at BECN1 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of BECN1 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of BECN1 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing BECN1 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with BECN1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with BECN1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of BECN1 gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations	biological terms co-occuring with BECN1 gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.
	GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing BECN1 from the GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures dataset.
	GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases	disease perturbations changing expression of BECN1 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases dataset.
	GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations	gene perturbations changing expression of BECN1 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset.
	GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Kinase Perturbations	kinase perturbations changing expression of BECN1 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Kinase Perturbations dataset.