Rubicon (Rubcn) was initially identified as a component of the Class III PI3K complex and a negative regulator of canonical autophagy and endosomal trafficking. However, Rubicon has attracted the most notoriety because of its critical role in LC3-associated phagocytosis (LAP), a form of noncanonical autophagy that utilizes some components of the autophagy machinery to process extracellular cargo. Additionally, Rubicon has been identified as a key modulator of the inflammatory response and viral replication. In this review, we discuss the known functions of Rubicon in LAP and other signaling pathways and examine the disease pathologies associated with Rubicon dysfunction in animal models and humans.
Keywords: LC3-associated phagocytosis; autoimmunity; autophagy; endosome; immunology; interferon.
© 2017 Federation of European Biochemical Societies This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.