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Microglial beclin 1 regulates retromer trafficking and phagocytosis and is impaired in Alzheimer's disease
Lucin KM, O'Brien CE, Bieri G, Czirr E, Mosher KI, Abbey RJ, Mastroeni DF, Rogers J et al.. Neuron, 2013-09-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Phagocytosis controls CNS homeostasis by facilitating the removal of unwanted cellular debris. Accordingly, impairments in different receptors or proteins involved in phagocytosis result in enhanced inflammation and neurodegeneration. While various studies have identified extrinsic factors that modulate phagocytosis in health and disease, key intracellular regulators are less understood.
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APA 7th
Lucin, K. M., O'Brien, C. E., Bieri, G., Czirr, E., Mosher, K. I., Abbey, R. J., et al. (2013). Microglial beclin 1 regulates retromer trafficking and phagocytosis and is impaired in Alzheimer's disease. Neuron. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2013.06.046
Vancouver
Lucin KM, O'Brien CE, Bieri G, Czirr E, Mosher KI, Abbey RJ, et al. Microglial beclin 1 regulates retromer trafficking and phagocytosis and is impaired in Alzheimer's disease. Neuron. 2013. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2013.06.046. PMID: 24012002.
BibTeX
@article{lucin2013-24012002,
author = {Lucin, K. M. and O'Brien, C. E. and Bieri, G. and Czirr, E. and Mosher, K. I. and Abbey, R. J. and Mastroeni, D. F. and Rogers, J. and others},
title = {{Microglial beclin 1 regulates retromer trafficking and phagocytosis and is impaired in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Neuron},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1016/j.neuron.2013.06.046},
pmid = {24012002},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2013.06.046}
}
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Key findings
- Accordingly, impairments in different receptors or proteins involved in phagocytosis result in enhanced inflammation and neurodegeneration.
- While various studies have identified extrinsic factors that modulate phagocytosis in health and disease, key intracellular regulators are less understood.
- Here we show that the autophagy protein beclin 1 is required for efficient phagocytosis in vitro and in mouse brains.
- Furthermore, we show that beclin 1-mediated impairments in phagocytosis are associated with dysfunctional recruitment of retromer to phagosomal membranes, reduced retromer levels, and impaired recycling of phagocytic receptors CD36 and Trem2.
Why it matters
In cells and mouse brains, this study found that the brain's immune cells (microglia) need the protein beclin 1 to clear debris efficiently. When beclin 1 was impaired, this went along with lower levels of the cell's "retromer" recycling machinery and poorer recycling of the debris-sensing receptors CD36 and Trem2. The authors report that this pathway is impaired in Alzheimer's disease, but this is early laboratory work and does not show that targeting beclin 1 prevents or treats Alzheimer's in people.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 54/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neuron) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neuron: journal h-index 689 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 375 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 25.0 citations a year over 15 year(s) since 2013 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 13.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 24 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 61 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Tony Wyss‐Coray: h-index 106 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Stanford University: institution h-index 2,684 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24012002) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 54 / 100 | — |
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