ULK1 and Alzheimer disease: Moreover, some AD patients have low levels of mitophagy proteins such as PINK1, Bcl-2-like protein 13, and BNlP3L/NIX, and the mitophagy initiation proteins p-TANK-binding kinase 1(TBK1) (Ser172)16 and p-unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1 (ULK1) (Ser555)15 are inactivated in all human AD samples, indicating a potential relationship between mitophagy deficits and accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria in the brains of AD patients [11].