mTOR inhibits autophagy by controlling ULK1 ubiquitylation, self-association and function through AMBRA1 and TRAF6

Nazio F, Strappazzon F, Antonioli M, Bielli P, Cianfanelli V, Bordi M, Gretzmeier C, Dengjel J, Piacentini M, Fimia GM, Cecconi F · 2013 · Nature cell biology · Atlas ID NAZ2013

What this study shows

mTOR restrains autophagy by controlling ULK1 ubiquitylation and stability via AMBRA1/TRAF6.

Abstract

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Autophagy is important in the basal or stress-induced clearance of bulk cytosol, damaged organelles, pathogens and selected proteins by specific vesicles, the autophagosomes. Following mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) inhibition, autophagosome formation is primed by the ULK1 and the beclin-1-Vps34-AMBRA1 complexes, which are linked together by a scaffold platform, the exocyst. Although several regulative steps have been described along this pathway, few targets of mTOR are known, and the cross-talk between ULK1 and beclin 1 complexes is still not fully understood.

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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	Nature cell biology
Year	2013
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1038/ncb2708 · PMID 23524951

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 (mTOR/ULK1/AMBRA1/TRAF6)
Target	mTOR / ULK1 / AMBRA1 / TRAF6
Model	Mammalian cells
Effect	mTOR inhibits autophagy by controlling ULK1 ubiquitylation, self-association and function via AMBRA1-TRAF6

In the Atlas

Links in the pathway map

Supports mTORC1 inhibits ULK1

Cite this paper

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Nazio, F., Strappazzon, F., Antonioli, M., Bielli, P., Cianfanelli, V., Bordi, M., Gretzmeier, C., Dengjel, J., Piacentini, M., Fimia, G. M., & Cecconi, F. (2013). mTOR inhibits autophagy by controlling ULK1 ubiquitylation, self-association and function through AMBRA1 and TRAF6. Nature cell biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb2708

@article{NAZ2013,
  author       = {Nazio, F. and Strappazzon, F. and Antonioli, M. and Bielli, P. and Cianfanelli, V. and Bordi, M. and Gretzmeier, C. and Dengjel, J. and Piacentini, M. and Fimia, G. M. and Cecconi, F.},
  title        = {{mTOR inhibits autophagy by controlling ULK1 ubiquitylation, self-association and function through AMBRA1 and TRAF6}},
  journal      = {Nature cell biology},
  year         = {2013},
  doi          = {10.1038/ncb2708},
  note         = {PMID: 23524951},
}

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 NAZ2013) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/NAZ2013/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_NAZ2013,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record NAZ2013},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/NAZ2013/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

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