Among the autophagy pathway, BECN1 is a scaffolding protein that is key for the initiation of autophagosome biogenesis41, and therefore, we can target and activate autophagy at early steps; the role of BECN1 in adipose tissue has been recently appreciated: adipocyte-specific BECN1 knockout mice develop severe lipodystrophy and metabolic dysfunctions42,43. Here, BECN1 is linked to lipodystrophy.