Jun proteins inhibit autophagy and induce cell death

Starvation induces a vigorous autophagic response to enhance cellular survival, whereas nutrient and serum supplementation inhibit autophagy and induce an intensive transcriptional burst that enables cellular proliferation. We recently found that some of the genes induced by serum and growth factors—the immediate early proteins JunB and c-Jun—inhibit autophagy. Deregulation of JunB expression when autophagy is specifically required, tilts the fate of starved cells to apoptosis.