Nutrient-dependent mTORC1 association with the ULK1-Atg13-FIP200 complex required for autophagy

Hosokawa N, Hara T, Kaizuka T, Kishi C, Takamura A, Miura Y, Iemura S, Natsume T, Takehana K, Yamada N, Guan JL, …, Mizushima N · 2009 · Molecular Biology of the Cell · Atlas ID HOS2009

What this study shows

Showed the DIRECT brake mTORC1 uses on autophagy: when nutrients are plentiful, mTORC1 physically joins the ULK1-Atg13-FIP200 complex (the autophagy-starter kinase) and phosphorylates ULK1 to keep it off. Starvation or rapamycin releases this brake and autophagy begins.

Abstract

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Autophagy is an intracellular degradation system, by which cytoplasmic contents are degraded in lysosomes. Autophagy is dynamically induced by nutrient depletion to provide necessary amino acids within cells, thus helping them adapt to starvation. Although it has been suggested that mTOR is a major negative regulator of autophagy, how it controls autophagy has not yet been determined. Here, we report a novel mammalian autophagy factor, Atg13, which forms a stable approximately 3-MDa protein complex with ULK1 and FIP200.

Read the full abstract on PubMed →

At a glance

Evidence type	M Molecular — cells, biochemistry, structure Marked M because it is molecular or in-vitro work (model: Mammalian cells) rather than a whole-organism health-outcome study. That is often exactly where causal biology gets established -- the code says which system the finding was shown in, and nothing about how good the work is.
Study type	5 - Mechanistic / In Vitro
Model system	Mammalian cells
Journal	Molecular Biology of the Cell
Year	2009
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1091/mbc.e08-12-1248 · PMID 19211835 · Free full text (PMC2663915)

Extracted findings

These fields were extracted from the paper with AI assistance and have not been checked against the source. Read them as a pointer into the paper, not as curated claims; where they disagree with the curated summary above, the curated summary stands.

Intervention	Genetic/biochemical (mTORC1/ULK1-Atg13-FIP200)
Target	mTORC1 / ULK1-Atg13-FIP200
Model	Mammalian cells
Effect	Nutrient-dependent mTORC1 association with the ULK1-Atg13-FIP200 complex controls autophagy induction

In the Atlas

Links in the pathway map

Supports mTORC1 inhibits ULK1
Supports ULK1 activates Autophagy

Learn the biology

Want to understand the biology behind this study? → mTOR and Autophagy

Cite this paper

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Hosokawa, N., Hara, T., Kaizuka, T., Kishi, C., Takamura, A., Miura, Y., Iemura, S., Natsume, T., Takehana, K., Yamada, N., Guan, J. L., Oshiro, N., & Mizushima, N. (2009). Nutrient-dependent mTORC1 association with the ULK1-Atg13-FIP200 complex required for autophagy. Molecular Biology of the Cell. https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.e08-12-1248

@article{HOS2009,
  author       = {Hosokawa, N. and Hara, T. and Kaizuka, T. and Kishi, C. and Takamura, A. and Miura, Y. and Iemura, S. and Natsume, T. and Takehana, K. and Yamada, N. and Guan, J. L. and Oshiro, N. and Mizushima, N.},
  title        = {{Nutrient-dependent mTORC1 association with the ULK1-Atg13-FIP200 complex required for autophagy}},
  journal      = {Molecular Biology of the Cell},
  year         = {2009},
  doi          = {10.1091/mbc.e08-12-1248},
  note         = {PMID: 19211835},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record HOS2009) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/HOS2009/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_HOS2009,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record HOS2009},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/HOS2009/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

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