BECN1 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Moreover, while some authors reported that muscle mRNA levels of BECLIN1 and LC3B are not significantly different among COPD versus healthy controls [84], others have shown increased LC3B-II (marker of autophagosomes formation), BECLIN1 and SQSTM1 (p62) protein levels in muscle biopsies of COPD patients [80], suggesting that autophagy is significantly induced in this setting.