Autophagy-Inducing Peptide (AIP)
The autophagy-inducing peptide (AIP) and negative control peptide were
provided by Dr. Beth Levine (Howard Hughes Medical Institute and
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX), and based
on her group’s previous studies (Shoji-Kawata et al., 2013). The
cell-permeable AIP was comprised of a portion of the Beclin 1 autophagy
protein spanned by amino acids 267-284, joined via a diglycine linker to
the HIV-1 Tat protein transduction domain (PTD) (Shoji-Kawata et al.,
2013, van den Berg and Dowdy, 2011). The control peptide consisted of an
identical Tat PTD domain linked to a scrambled Beclin 1 amino acid
sequence that does not induce autophagy (Shoji-Kawata et al., 2013).
Both peptides were reported to be well-tolerated in mice when
administered in vivo (Shoji-Kawata et al., 2013).