MAP1LC3A Gene - Microtubule Associated Protein 1 Light Chain 3 Alpha
Key autophagy marker and tumor suppressor gene involved in LC3 lipidation and autophagosome formation
Gene Information Card
| Symbol | MAP1LC3A |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Microtubule Associated Protein 1 Light Chain 3 Alpha |
| Gene Type | protein-coding |
| Chromosomal Location | 20q11.22 |
| NCBI Gene ID | 84557 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/84557 |
| Ensembl ID | ENSG00000101460 |
| UniProt ID | Q9H492 |
| OMIM ID | 601242 |
| HGNC ID | 6838 |
| Aliases | LC3A, ATG8E, MAP1ALC3, MAP1BLC3 |
Description
MAP1LC3A encodes microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 alpha (LC3A), a core component of the autophagy machinery. LC3A is conjugated to phosphatidylethanolamine (LC3-II) and localizes to autophagosome membranes, serving as a widely used marker for autophagy induction. The protein is involved in autophagosome biogenesis, cargo recognition, and fusion with lysosomes. MAP1LC3A is implicated in cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and inflammatory diseases.
Disease Associations
| Disease category | Pathophysiological mechanism | Genomic evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Breast Cancer | Altered LC3A expression correlates with autophagy dysregulation and tumor progression | ClinVar, COSMIC |
| Colorectal Cancer | Reduced LC3A expression linked to poor prognosis and metastasis | NCBI Gene, PubMed |
| Hepatocellular Carcinoma | LC3A overexpression associated with autophagy flux changes and tumor growth | COSMIC, PubMed |
| Parkinson's Disease | LC3A variants may impair autophagic clearance of alpha-synuclein | OMIM, ClinVar |
| Alzheimer's Disease | Dysregulated LC3A-mediated autophagy contributes to amyloid-beta accumulation | OMIM, PubMed |
Expression Profile
Tissue Expression
| Tissue | nTPM | level |
|---|---|---|
| Brain | 12.5 | Medium |
| Heart | 8.3 | Low |
| Liver | 15.2 | Medium |
| Kidney | 10.1 | Medium |
| Skeletal Muscle | 6.7 | Low |
| Lung | 9.8 | Low |
| Pancreas | 5.4 | Low |
| Spleen | 11.3 | Medium |
Cell Line Expression
| Cell Line | nTPM | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| HeLa | 18.5 | High expression; used as autophagy model |
| HEK293 | 14.2 | Moderate expression; common for transfection studies |
| MCF7 | 9.1 | Low expression; estrogen receptor positive breast cancer |
| A549 | 12.8 | Medium expression; lung adenocarcinoma |
| HepG2 | 16.3 | High expression; hepatocellular carcinoma |
Data source：Human Protein Atlas（proteinatlas.org）
Mutations & Variants
Hotspot Mutations
| Variant | Type | Frequency | Functional Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| c.1A>G | missense | <0.01% | p.Met1?; start codon loss, likely loss of function |
| c.95C>T | missense | <0.01% | p.Thr32Met; rare variant, uncertain significance |
| c.214G>A | missense | <0.01% | p.Gly72Arg; reported in COSMIC for colorectal cancer |
| c.361C>T | nonsense | <0.01% | p.Gln121*; premature stop, loss of function |
Mutation functional classification
Loss of Function (LOF)
Nonsense and frameshift mutations (e.g., p.Gln121*) lead to truncated protein and impaired autophagy.
Gain of Function (GOF)
No confirmed gain-of-function mutations reported in MAP1LC3A.
Dominant Negative (DN)
Missense mutations in the GABARAP interaction region may act dominant-negative by disrupting LC3 lipidation.
View complete mutation data：
Gene Ontology (GO)
| • autophagy (GO:0006914) | • macroautophagy (GO:0016236) |
| • microtubule binding (GO:0030246) | • phosphatidylethanolamine binding (GO:0034045) |
| • identical protein binding (GO:0042802) | • positive regulation of autophagosome maturation (GO:1901098) |
Pathways
• Autophagy - Homo sapiens (human) (KEGG: hsa04140)
• Mitophagy - Homo sapiens (human) (Reactome: R-HSA-5205647)
• Selective autophagy (Reactome: R-HSA-9663891)
Protein Summary
MAP1LC3A (LC3A) is a 125-amino acid protein (UniProt Q9H492) belonging to the ATG8 family. It is synthesized as pro-LC3A and cleaved by ATG4 to expose a C-terminal glycine, which is conjugated to phosphatidylethanolamine (LC3-II) via a ubiquitin-like conjugation system. LC3-II associates with autophagosomal membranes and is essential for autophagosome elongation, cargo recruitment, and fusion. LC3A is widely used as a biomarker for autophagy activity. Its expression is regulated by nutrient status and stress signals.
Related Services
Related Products
| Product name | Cat.No. | Species | Gene ID | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAP1LC3A Knockout HEK293 Cell Line | EDJ-KQ1445 | Human | 84557 | Details Get a Quote |
| MAP1LC3A Knockout A-549 Cell Line | EDJ-KQ20990 | Human | 84557 | Details Get a Quote |
| MAP1LC3A Knockout HeLa Cell Line | EDJ-KQ20991 | Human | 84557 | Details Get a Quote |
| MAP1LC3A Knockout HCT 116 Cell Line | EDJ-KQ74532 | Human | 84557 | Details Get a Quote |
