Autophagy is an intracellular degradation system that contributes to cellular homeostasis through degradation of various targets such as proteins, organelles and microbes. Since autophagy is related to various diseases such as infection, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, it is attracting attention as a new therapeutic target. Autophagy is mediated by dozens of autophagy-related (Atg) proteins, among which Atg4 is the sole protease that regulates autophagy through the processing and deconjugating of Atg8. As the Atg4 activity is essential and highly specific to autophagy, Atg4 is a prospective target for developing autophagy-specific inhibitors. In this review article, we summarize our current knowledge of the structure, function and regulation of Atg4 including efforts to develop Atg4-specific inhibitors.

Magnesium is an essential ion for numerous physiological processes. MgtE is a Mg2+ selective channel involved in the maintenance of intracellular Mg2+ homeostasis, whose gating is regulated by intracellular Mg2+ levels. Here, we report that ATP binds to MgtE, regulating its Mg2+-dependent gating. Crystal structures of MgtE–ATP complex show that ATP binds to the intracellular CBS domain of MgtE. Functional studies support that ATP binding to MgtE enhances the intracellular domain affinity for Mg2+ within physiological concentrations of this divalent cation, enabling MgtE to function as an in vivo Mg2+ sensor. ATP dissociation from MgtE upregulates Mg2+ influx at both high and low intracellular Mg2+ concentrations. Using site-directed mutagenesis and structure based-electrophysiological and biochemical analyses, we identify key residues and main structural changes involved in the process. This work provides the molecular basis of ATP-dependent modulation of MgtE in Mg2+ homeostasis.

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Magnesium ions (Mg2+) are divalent cations essential for various cellular functions. Mg2+ homeostasis is maintained through Mg2+ channels such as MgtE, a prokaryotic Mg2+ channel whose gating is regulated by intracellular Mg2+ levels. Our previous crystal structure of MgtE in the Mg2+-bound, closed state revealed the existence of seven crystallographically-independent Mg2+-binding sites, Mg1–Mg7. The role of Mg2+-binding to each site in channel closure remains unknown. Here, we investigated Mg2+-dependent changes in the structure and dynamics of MgtE using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Mg2+-titration experiments, using wild-type and mutant forms of MgtE, revealed that the Mg2+ binding sites Mg1, Mg2, Mg3, and Mg6, exhibited cooperativity and a higher affinity for Mg2+, enabling the remaining Mg2+ binding sites, Mg4, Mg5, and Mg7, to play important roles in channel closure. This study revealed the role of each Mg2+-binding site in MgtE gating, underlying the mechanism of cellular Mg2+ homeostasis.