Protein degradation by basal constitutive autophagy is important to avoid accumulation of polyubiquitinated protein aggregates and development of neurodegenerative diseases. The polyubiquitin-binding protein p62/SQSTM1 is degraded by autophagy. It is found in cellular inclusion bodies together with polyubiquitinated proteins and in cytosolic protein aggregates that accumulate in various chronic, toxic, and degenerative diseases. Here we show for the first time a direct interaction between p62 and the autophagic effector proteins LC3A and -B and the related ␥-aminobutyrate receptor-associated protein and ␥-aminobutyrate receptor-associated-like proteins. The binding is mediated by a 22-residue sequence of p62 containing an evolutionarily conserved motif. To monitor the autophagic sequestration of p62-and LC3-positive bodies, we developed a novel pH-sensitive fluorescent tag consisting of a tandem fusion of the red, acid-insensitive mCherry and the acid-sensitive green fluorescent proteins. This approach revealed that p62-and LC3-positive bodies are degraded in autolysosomes. Strikingly, even rather large p62-positive inclusion bodies (2 m diameter) become degraded by autophagy. The specific interaction between p62 and LC3, requiring the motif we have mapped, is instrumental in mediating autophagic degradation of the p62-positive bodies. We also demonstrate that the previously reported aggresome-like induced structures containing ubiquitinated proteins in cytosolic bodies are dependent on p62 for their formation. In fact, p62 bodies and these structures are indistinguishable. Taken together, our results clearly suggest that p62 is required both for the formation and the degradation of polyubiquitin-containing bodies by autophagy.

Autophagy is a catabolic process where cytosolic cellular components are delivered to the lysosome for degradation. Recent studies have indicated the existence of specific receptors, such as p62, which link ubiquitinated targets to autophagosomal degradation pathways. Here we show that NBR1 (neighbor of BRCA1 gene 1) is an autophagy receptor containing LC3- and ubiquitin (Ub)-binding domains. NBR1 is recruited to Ub-positive protein aggregates and degraded by autophagy depending on an LC3-interacting region (LIR) and LC3 family modifiers. Although NBR1 and p62 interact and form oligomers, they can function independently, as shown by autophagosomal clearance of NBR1 in p62-deficient cells. NBR1 was localized to Ub-positive inclusions in patients with liver dysfunction, and depletion of NBR1 abolished the formation of Ub-positive p62 bodies upon puromycin treatment of cells. We propose that NBR1 and p62 act as receptors for selective autophagosomal degradation of ubiquitinated targets.

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