ATG14 is an essential autophagy regulator that directs the localization and activity of the PI3-kinase complex PI3KC3-C1, which is critical for autophagosome initiation and maturation 12. ATG14 promotes autophagosome formation through MAP1LC3/LC3 conjugation and facilitates BECN1 translocation from the trans-Golgi network to autophagosomes, enhancing PIK3C3 activity in a BECN1-dependent manner 34. Mechanistically, ATG14 relocalizes to ER-mitochondria contact sites following starvation, where it is recruited by STX17 to initiate autophagosome biogenesis 5. During autophagosome maturation, ATG14 binds to the STX17-SNAP29 t-SNARE complex and primes it for VAMP8 interaction, promoting autophagosome-endolysosome fusion 67. Dysregulation of ATG14 is implicated in multiple diseases: reduced ATG14 expression impairs autophagy in atherosclerotic macrophages, promoting lipid accumulation and inflammation 8; ATG14 functions in restricting Mycobacterium tuberculosis replication by regulating phagosome-lysosome fusion in human macrophages 9; and lncRNA-mediated ATG14 upregulation promotes chemoresistance in gastric cancer cells 10. ATG14 also participates in oxidative-stress-induced oocyte aging through the Beclin-VPS34-ATG14 autophagy pathway 11.