The Biological Role and Clinical Significance of BECLIN-1 in Cancer

BECLIN-1 is a multidomain protein that through dynamic interaction with a variety of partners controls autophagy and apoptosis, two processes dysregulated in cancer cells, thus playing a crucial role in cell destiny. Mutations of BECN1 gene have not been described, yet its monoallelic deletion leads to insufficient autophagy with an impact on spontaneous cancer development, which identifies it as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor gene. Epigenetic modulation of its expression, along with alternative splicing, post-translational modifications and alternative partner interactions influence its regulation of autophagy, thus affecting cancer cell behavior in terms of proliferation, motility, and survival under stress. In this review article we describe the structural and functional properties of BECLIN-1 and discuss how its altered expression and interaction with other proteins in cancer cells can be harnessed for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.