This entry represents a highly conserved 100 residue coiled-coil region which is found in short coiled-coil protein (SCOC) in human and UNC-69 in Caenorhabditis elegans. In human, SCOC is required for autophagosome formation during amino acid starvation. It forms a starvation-sensitive trimeric complex with UVRAG (UV radiation resistance associated gene) and FEZ1 and may regulate ULK1 and Beclin 1 complex activities [1]. In C. elegans, this small, evolutionarily conserved coiled-coil domain-containing protein, UNC-69, acts as a binding partner of UNC-76. Together they participate in a common genetic pathway necessary for axon extension and cooperate to regulate the size and position of synaptic vesicles in axons. Moreover, both proteins colocalize as puncta in neuronal processes and mutations in UNC-69 preferentially disrupt membrane traffic within axons [2].

1: Genome-wide siRNA screen reveals amino acid starvation-induced autophagy requires SCOC and WAC. McKnight NC, Jefferies HB, Alemu EA, Saunders RE, Howell M, Johansen T, Tooze SA; EMBO J. 2012;31:1931-1946. PMID:22354037

2: The short coiled-coil domain-containing protein UNC-69 cooperates with UNC-76 to regulate axonal outgrowth and normal presynaptic organization in Caenorhabditis elegans. Su CW, Tharin S, Jin Y, Wightman B, Spector M, Meili D, Tsung N, Rhiner C, Bourikas D, Stoeckli E, Garriga G, Horvitz HR, Hengartner MO; J Biol. 2006;5:9. PMID:16725058