IRGQ

Autophagy receptor that specifically promotes clearance of misfolded MHC class I molecules by targeting them to the lysosome for degradation. Acts as a molecular adapter that specifically recognizes and binds (1) misfolded MHC class I molecules following their ubiquitination, as well as (2) autophagy-related proteins, promoting the recruitment of misfolded MHC class I molecules to autophagy machinery for degradation. Degradation of misfolded MHC class I molecules is essential to prevent accumulation of defective MHC class I complexes at the surface of CD8(+) T-cells and prevent a stronger T-cell-mediated response. In contrast to other members of the family, does not show GTPase activity..

Function from UniProtKB (Q8WZA9), read 2026-09-23. CC BY 4.0.