O75143 (ATG13_HUMAN) Reviewed, UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot

Names and origin

Protein names

Recommended name:
Autophagy-related protein 13

Gene names

Name:	ATG13
Synonyms:	KIAA0652

Organism

Homo sapiens (Human) [Reference proteome]

Taxonomic identifier

9606 [NCBI]

Taxonomic lineage

cellular organisms › Eukaryota › Opisthokonta › Metazoa › Eumetazoa › Bilateria › Deuterostomia › Chordata › Craniata › Vertebrata › Gnathostomata › Teleostomi › Euteleostomi › Sarcopterygii › Tetrapoda › Amniota › Mammalia › Theria › Eutheria › Euarchontoglires › Primates › Haplorrhini › Simiiformes › Catarrhini › Hominoidea › Hominidae › Homininae › Homo

Protein attributes

Sequence length	517 AA.
Sequence status	Complete.
Protein existence	Evidence at protein level

General annotation (Comments)

Function	Autophagy factor required for autophagosome formation. Target of the TOR kinase signaling pathway that regulates autophagy through the control of the phosphorylation status of ATG13 and ULK1, and the regulation of the ATG13-ULK1-RB1CC1 complex. Ref.8 Ref.9 Ref.10
Subunit structure	Part of a complex consisting of ATG13, ATG101, ULK1 and RB1CC1. Interacts with ATG101; this interaction stabilizes ATG13, protecting it from proteasomal degradation. Interacts with ULK1 (via C-terminus). Neither ATG101-, nor ULK1-binding are affected by ATG13 phosphorylation status. Interacts with ULK2 (via C-terminus). Ref.7 Ref.8 Ref.9 Ref.10
Subcellular location	Cytoplasm › cytosol By similarity. Preautophagosomal structure By similarity. Note: Under starvation conditions, is localized to puncate structures primarily representing the isolation membrane; the isolation membrane sequesters a portion of the cytoplasm resulting in autophagosome formation By similarity.
Post-translational modification	Phosphorylated by ULK1 and ULK2. Phosphorylation status depends on nutrient-rich conditions; dephosphorylated during starvation or following treatment with rapamycin By similarity. Ref.8 Ref.9 Ref.10
Sequence similarities	Belongs to the ATG13 metazoan family.
Sequence caution	The sequence BAA31627.2 differs from that shown. Reason: Erroneous initiation. Translation N-terminally shortened. The sequence BAD97323.1 differs from that shown. Reason: Erroneous initiation. Translation N-terminally shortened.

Ontologies

Keywords
Biological process	Autophagy
Cellular component	Cytoplasm
Coding sequence diversity	Alternative splicing
PTM	Phosphoprotein
Technical term	Complete proteome Reference proteome
Gene Ontology (GO)
Biological_process	autophagic vacuole assembly Inferred from mutant phenotype Ref.9. Source: UniProtKB
Cellular_component	ULK1-ATG13-FIP200 complex Inferred from physical interaction Ref.9. Source: UniProtKB cytosol Inferred from electronic annotation. Source: UniProtKB-SubCell pre-autophagosomal structure Inferred from sequence or structural similarity. Source: UniProtKB
Complete GO annotation...

Binary interactions

With	Entry	#Exp.	IntAct	Notes
ATG101	Q9BSB4	4	EBI-2798775,EBI-2946739
GABARAPL1	Q9H0R8	2	EBI-2798775,EBI-746969
GABARAPL2	P60520	2	EBI-2798775,EBI-720116
MAP1LC3B	Q9GZQ8	2	EBI-2798775,EBI-373144
RB1CC1	Q8TDY2	5	EBI-2798775,EBI-1047793

Alternative products

This entry describes 5 isoforms produced by alternative splicing. [Align] [Select]

Note: Experimental confirmation may be lacking for some isoforms.

Isoform 1 (identifier: O75143-1)

This isoform has been chosen as the 'canonical' sequence. All positional information in this entry refers to it. This is also the sequence that appears in the downloadable versions of the entry.

Isoform 2 (identifier: O75143-2)

The sequence of this isoform differs from the canonical sequence as follows:
     265-301: Missing.

Isoform 3 (identifier: O75143-3)

The sequence of this isoform differs from the canonical sequence as follows:
     265-301: Missing.
     428-442: HSDGSSGGSSGNTHD → PCSWPLPCLLSPSTV
     443-517: Missing.

Isoform 4 (identifier: O75143-4)

The sequence of this isoform differs from the canonical sequence as follows:
     1-79: Missing.
     263-299: Missing.

Isoform 5 (identifier: O75143-5)

The sequence of this isoform differs from the canonical sequence as follows:
     262-262: S → SQCVFTVTKAHFQTPTPVVTDTLRVPMAGLAFSH

Note: No experimental confirmation available.

Sequence annotation (Features)

	Feature key	Position(s)	Length	Description	Graphical view	Feature identifier
Molecule processing
	Chain	1 – 517	517	Autophagy-related protein 13		PRO_0000050767
Regions
	Compositional bias	41 – 44	4	Poly-Ser
Amino acid modifications
	Modified residue	361	1	Phosphoserine By similarity
Natural variations
	Alternative sequence	1 – 79	79	Missing in isoform 4.		VSP_044503
	Alternative sequence	262	1	S → SQCVFTVTKAHFQTPTPVVT DTLRVPMAGLAFSH in isoform 5.		VSP_044640
	Alternative sequence	263 – 299	37	Missing in isoform 4.		VSP_044504
	Alternative sequence	265 – 301	37	Missing in isoform 2 and isoform 3.		VSP_002431
	Alternative sequence	428 – 442	15	HSDGS…GNTHD → PCSWPLPCLLSPSTV in isoform 3.		VSP_002432
	Alternative sequence	443 – 517	75	Missing in isoform 3.		VSP_002433

Sequences

	Sequence		Length	Mass (Da)
	Isoform 1 [UniParc]. Last modified November 1, 1998. Version 1. Checksum: 4D6905985EAB78A7	FASTA	517	56,572
	10 20 30 40 50 60 METDLNSQDR KDLDKFIKFF ALKTVQVIVQ ARLGEKICTR SSSSPTGSDW FNLAIKDIPE 70 80 90 100 110 120 VTHEAKKALA GQLPAVGRSM CVEISLKTSE GDSMELEIWC LEMNEKCDKE IKVSYTVYNR 130 140 150 160 170 180 LSLLLKSLLA ITRVTPAYRL SRKQGHEYVI LYRIYFGEVQ LSGLGEGFQT VRVGTVGTPV 190 200 210 220 230 240 GTITLSCAYR INLAFMSTRQ FERTPPIMGI IIDHFVDRPY PSSSPMHPCN YRTAGEDTGV 250 260 270 280 290 300 IYPSVEDSQE VCTTSFSTSP PSQLSSSRLS YQPAALGVGS ADLAYPVVFA AGLNATHPHQ 310 320 330 340 350 360 LMVPGKEGGV PLAPNQPVHG TQADQERLAT CTPSDRTHCA ATPSSSEDTE TVSNSSEGRA 370 380 390 400 410 420 SPHDVLETIF VRKVGAFVNK PINQVTLTSL DIPFAMFAPK NLELEDTDPM VNPPDSPETE 430 440 450 460 470 480 SPLQGSLHSD GSSGGSSGNT HDDFVMIDFK PAFSKDDILP MDLGTFYREF QNPPQLSSLS 490 500 510 IDIGAQSMAE DLDSLPEKLA VHEKNVREFD AFVETLQ
	Isoform 2 [UniParc]. Checksum: 4EB66893A99956A1	FASTA	480	52,823
	10 20 30 40 50 60 METDLNSQDR KDLDKFIKFF ALKTVQVIVQ ARLGEKICTR SSSSPTGSDW FNLAIKDIPE 70 80 90 100 110 120 VTHEAKKALA GQLPAVGRSM CVEISLKTSE GDSMELEIWC LEMNEKCDKE IKVSYTVYNR 130 140 150 160 170 180 LSLLLKSLLA ITRVTPAYRL SRKQGHEYVI LYRIYFGEVQ LSGLGEGFQT VRVGTVGTPV 190 200 210 220 230 240 GTITLSCAYR INLAFMSTRQ FERTPPIMGI IIDHFVDRPY PSSSPMHPCN YRTAGEDTGV 250 260 270 280 290 300 IYPSVEDSQE VCTTSFSTSP PSQLMVPGKE GGVPLAPNQP VHGTQADQER LATCTPSDRT 310 320 330 340 350 360 HCAATPSSSE DTETVSNSSE GRASPHDVLE TIFVRKVGAF VNKPINQVTL TSLDIPFAMF 370 380 390 400 410 420 APKNLELEDT DPMVNPPDSP ETESPLQGSL HSDGSSGGSS GNTHDDFVMI DFKPAFSKDD 430 440 450 460 470 480 ILPMDLGTFY REFQNPPQLS SLSIDIGAQS MAEDLDSLPE KLAVHEKNVR EFDAFVETLQ
	Isoform 3 [UniParc]. Checksum: F2CE69C9082ABFA5	FASTA	405	44,487
	10 20 30 40 50 60 METDLNSQDR KDLDKFIKFF ALKTVQVIVQ ARLGEKICTR SSSSPTGSDW FNLAIKDIPE 70 80 90 100 110 120 VTHEAKKALA GQLPAVGRSM CVEISLKTSE GDSMELEIWC LEMNEKCDKE IKVSYTVYNR 130 140 150 160 170 180 LSLLLKSLLA ITRVTPAYRL SRKQGHEYVI LYRIYFGEVQ LSGLGEGFQT VRVGTVGTPV 190 200 210 220 230 240 GTITLSCAYR INLAFMSTRQ FERTPPIMGI IIDHFVDRPY PSSSPMHPCN YRTAGEDTGV 250 260 270 280 290 300 IYPSVEDSQE VCTTSFSTSP PSQLMVPGKE GGVPLAPNQP VHGTQADQER LATCTPSDRT 310 320 330 340 350 360 HCAATPSSSE DTETVSNSSE GRASPHDVLE TIFVRKVGAF VNKPINQVTL TSLDIPFAMF 370 380 390 400 APKNLELEDT DPMVNPPDSP ETESPLQGSL PCSWPLPCLL SPSTV
	Isoform 4 [UniParc]. Checksum: 157846C39C54650F	FASTA	401	44,093
	10 20 30 40 50 60 MCVEISLKTS EGDSMELEIW CLEMNEKCDK EIKVSYTVYN RLSLLLKSLL AITRVTPAYR 70 80 90 100 110 120 LSRKQGHEYV ILYRIYFGEV QLSGLGEGFQ TVRVGTVGTP VGTITLSCAY RINLAFMSTR 130 140 150 160 170 180 QFERTPPIMG IIIDHFVDRP YPSSSPMHPC NYRTAGEDTG VIYPSVEDSQ EVCTTSFSTS 190 200 210 220 230 240 PPSQLMVPGK EGGVPLAPNQ PVHGTQADQE RLATCTPSDR THCAATPSSS EDTETVSNSS 250 260 270 280 290 300 EGRASPHDVL ETIFVRKVGA FVNKPINQVT LTSLDIPFAM FAPKNLELED TDPMVNPPDS 310 320 330 340 350 360 PETESPLQGS LHSDGSSGGS SGNTHDDFVM IDFKPAFSKD DILPMDLGTF YREFQNPPQL 370 380 390 400 SSLSIDIGAQ SMAEDLDSLP EKLAVHEKNV REFDAFVETL Q
	Isoform 5 [UniParc]. Checksum: 0965E80906316BD0	FASTA	550	60,155
	10 20 30 40 50 60 METDLNSQDR KDLDKFIKFF ALKTVQVIVQ ARLGEKICTR SSSSPTGSDW FNLAIKDIPE 70 80 90 100 110 120 VTHEAKKALA GQLPAVGRSM CVEISLKTSE GDSMELEIWC LEMNEKCDKE IKVSYTVYNR 130 140 150 160 170 180 LSLLLKSLLA ITRVTPAYRL SRKQGHEYVI LYRIYFGEVQ LSGLGEGFQT VRVGTVGTPV 190 200 210 220 230 240 GTITLSCAYR INLAFMSTRQ FERTPPIMGI IIDHFVDRPY PSSSPMHPCN YRTAGEDTGV 250 260 270 280 290 300 IYPSVEDSQE VCTTSFSTSP PSQCVFTVTK AHFQTPTPVV TDTLRVPMAG LAFSHQLSSS 310 320 330 340 350 360 RLSYQPAALG VGSADLAYPV VFAAGLNATH PHQLMVPGKE GGVPLAPNQP VHGTQADQER 370 380 390 400 410 420 LATCTPSDRT HCAATPSSSE DTETVSNSSE GRASPHDVLE TIFVRKVGAF VNKPINQVTL 430 440 450 460 470 480 TSLDIPFAMF APKNLELEDT DPMVNPPDSP ETESPLQGSL HSDGSSGGSS GNTHDDFVMI 490 500 510 520 530 540 DFKPAFSKDD ILPMDLGTFY REFQNPPQLS SLSIDIGAQS MAEDLDSLPE KLAVHEKNVR 550 EFDAFVETLQ

References

	« Hide 'large scale' referencesShow 'large scale' references »
[1]	"Prediction of the coding sequences of unidentified human genes. X. The complete sequences of 100 new cDNA clones from brain which can code for large proteins in vitro." Ishikawa K., Nagase T., Suyama M., Miyajima N., Tanaka A., Kotani H., Nomura N., Ohara O. DNA Res. 5:169-176(1998) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract] Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE MRNA] (ISOFORM 1). Tissue: Brain.
[2]	"Complete sequencing and characterization of 21,243 full-length human cDNAs." Ota T., Suzuki Y., Nishikawa T., Otsuki T., Sugiyama T., Irie R., Wakamatsu A., Hayashi K., Sato H., Nagai K., Kimura K., Makita H., Sekine M., Obayashi M., Nishi T., Shibahara T., Tanaka T., Ishii S. , Yamamoto J., Saito K., Kawai Y., Isono Y., Nakamura Y., Nagahari K., Murakami K., Yasuda T., Iwayanagi T., Wagatsuma M., Shiratori A., Sudo H., Hosoiri T., Kaku Y., Kodaira H., Kondo H., Sugawara M., Takahashi M., Kanda K., Yokoi T., Furuya T., Kikkawa E., Omura Y., Abe K., Kamihara K., Katsuta N., Sato K., Tanikawa M., Yamazaki M., Ninomiya K., Ishibashi T., Yamashita H., Murakawa K., Fujimori K., Tanai H., Kimata M., Watanabe M., Hiraoka S., Chiba Y., Ishida S., Ono Y., Takiguchi S., Watanabe S., Yosida M., Hotuta T., Kusano J., Kanehori K., Takahashi-Fujii A., Hara H., Tanase T.-O., Nomura Y., Togiya S., Komai F., Hara R., Takeuchi K., Arita M., Imose N., Musashino K., Yuuki H., Oshima A., Sasaki N., Aotsuka S., Yoshikawa Y., Matsunawa H., Ichihara T., Shiohata N., Sano S., Moriya S., Momiyama H., Satoh N., Takami S., Terashima Y., Suzuki O., Nakagawa S., Senoh A., Mizoguchi H., Goto Y., Shimizu F., Wakebe H., Hishigaki H., Watanabe T., Sugiyama A., Takemoto M., Kawakami B., Yamazaki M., Watanabe K., Kumagai A., Itakura S., Fukuzumi Y., Fujimori Y., Komiyama M., Tashiro H., Tanigami A., Fujiwara T., Ono T., Yamada K., Fujii Y., Ozaki K., Hirao M., Ohmori Y., Kawabata A., Hikiji T., Kobatake N., Inagaki H., Ikema Y., Okamoto S., Okitani R., Kawakami T., Noguchi S., Itoh T., Shigeta K., Senba T., Matsumura K., Nakajima Y., Mizuno T., Morinaga M., Sasaki M., Togashi T., Oyama M., Hata H., Watanabe M., Komatsu T., Mizushima-Sugano J., Satoh T., Shirai Y., Takahashi Y., Nakagawa K., Okumura K., Nagase T., Nomura N., Kikuchi H., Masuho Y., Yamashita R., Nakai K., Yada T., Nakamura Y., Ohara O., Isogai T., Sugano S. Nat. Genet. 36:40-45(2004) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract] Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE MRNA] (ISOFORMS 2 AND 4). Tissue: Brain cortex and Thyroid.
[3]	Totoki Y., Toyoda A., Takeda T., Sakaki Y., Tanaka A., Yokoyama S. Submitted (APR-2005) to the EMBL/GenBank/DDBJ databases Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE MRNA] (ISOFORM 5). Tissue: Brain.
[4]	"Human chromosome 11 DNA sequence and analysis including novel gene identification." Taylor T.D., Noguchi H., Totoki Y., Toyoda A., Kuroki Y., Dewar K., Lloyd C., Itoh T., Takeda T., Kim D.-W., She X., Barlow K.F., Bloom T., Bruford E., Chang J.L., Cuomo C.A., Eichler E., FitzGerald M.G. , Jaffe D.B., LaButti K., Nicol R., Park H.-S., Seaman C., Sougnez C., Yang X., Zimmer A.R., Zody M.C., Birren B.W., Nusbaum C., Fujiyama A., Hattori M., Rogers J., Lander E.S., Sakaki Y. Nature 440:497-500(2006) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract] Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE GENOMIC DNA].
[5]	Mural R.J., Istrail S., Sutton G.G., Florea L., Halpern A.L., Mobarry C.M., Lippert R., Walenz B., Shatkay H., Dew I., Miller J.R., Flanigan M.J., Edwards N.J., Bolanos R., Fasulo D., Halldorsson B.V., Hannenhalli S., Turner R. , Yooseph S., Lu F., Nusskern D.R., Shue B.C., Zheng X.H., Zhong F., Delcher A.L., Huson D.H., Kravitz S.A., Mouchard L., Reinert K., Remington K.A., Clark A.G., Waterman M.S., Eichler E.E., Adams M.D., Hunkapiller M.W., Myers E.W., Venter J.C. Submitted (SEP-2005) to the EMBL/GenBank/DDBJ databases Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE GENOMIC DNA].
[6]	"The status, quality, and expansion of the NIH full-length cDNA project: the Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC)." The MGC Project Team Genome Res. 14:2121-2127(2004) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract] Cited for: NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE [LARGE SCALE MRNA] (ISOFORMS 2 AND 3). Tissue: Cervix, Lung and Muscle.
[7]	"Atg101, a novel mammalian autophagy protein interacting with Atg13." Hosokawa N., Sasaki T., Iemura S.I., Natsume T., Hara T., Mizushima N. Autophagy 5:973-979(2009) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract] Cited for: INTERACTION WITH ATG101; ULK1 AND RB1CC1.
[8]	"A novel, human Atg13 binding protein, Atg101, interacts with ULK1 and is essential for macroautophagy." Mercer C.A., Kaliappan A., Dennis P.B. Autophagy 5:649-662(2009) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract] Cited for: FUNCTION AS AUTOPHAGY FACTOR, PHOSPHORYLATION, INTERACTION WITH ULK1 AND ATG101.
[9]	"Nutrient-dependent mTORC1 association with the ULK1-Atg13-FIP200 complex required for autophagy." Hosokawa N., Hara T., Kaizuka T., Kishi C., Takamura A., Miura Y., Iemura S., Natsume T., Takehana K., Yamada N., Guan J.L., Oshiro N., Mizushima N. Mol. Biol. Cell 20:1981-1991(2009) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract] Cited for: FUNCTION, INTERACTION WITH ULK1 AND RB1CC1, PHOSPHORYLATION.
[10]	"Kinase-inactivated ULK proteins inhibit autophagy via their conserved C-terminal domains using an Atg13-independent mechanism." Chan E.Y.W., Longatti A., McKnight N.C., Tooze S.A. Mol. Cell. Biol. 29:157-171(2009) [PubMed] [Europe PMC] [Abstract] Cited for: FUNCTION AS AUTOPHAGY FACTOR, INTERACTION WITH ULK1 AND ULK2, PHOSPHORYLATION BY ULK1 AND ULK2.
+	Additional computationally mapped references.

Cross-references

Sequence databases
EMBL GenBank DDBJ	AB014552 mRNA. Translation: BAA31627.2. Different initiation. AK023867 mRNA. Translation: BAB14707.1. AK294110 mRNA. Translation: BAG57445.1. AK223603 mRNA. Translation: BAD97323.1. Different initiation. AC115088 Genomic DNA. No translation available. AC127035 Genomic DNA. No translation available. CH471064 Genomic DNA. Translation: EAW67985.1. CH471064 Genomic DNA. Translation: EAW67986.1. CH471064 Genomic DNA. Translation: EAW67987.1. CH471064 Genomic DNA. Translation: EAW67988.1. CH471064 Genomic DNA. Translation: EAW67989.1. CH471064 Genomic DNA. Translation: EAW67990.1. CH471064 Genomic DNA. Translation: EAW67991.1. BC001331 mRNA. Translation: AAH01331.1. BC002378 mRNA. Translation: AAH02378.1. BC006191 mRNA. Translation: AAH06191.1.
IPI	IPI00006080. IPI00219053. IPI00219054. IPI00981591.
RefSeq	NP_001136145.1. NM_001142673.2. NP_001192048.1. NM_001205119.1. NP_001192049.1. NM_001205120.1. NP_001192050.1. NM_001205121.1. NP_001192051.1. NM_001205122.1. NP_055556.2. NM_014741.4.
UniGene	Hs.127403.
3D structure databases
ProteinModelPortal	O75143.
ModBase	Search...
Protein-protein interaction databases
IntAct	O75143. 10 interactions.
PTM databases
PhosphoSite	O75143.
Proteomic databases
PaxDb	O75143.
PRIDE	O75143.
Protocols and materials databases
DNASU	9776.
StructuralBiologyKnowledgebase	Search...
Genome annotation databases
Ensembl	ENST00000312040; ENSP00000310321; ENSG00000175224. ENST00000359513; ENSP00000352500; ENSG00000175224. ENST00000434074; ENSP00000400642; ENSG00000175224. ENST00000451945; ENSP00000404900; ENSG00000175224. ENST00000524625; ENSP00000433543; ENSG00000175224. ENST00000526508; ENSP00000431974; ENSG00000175224. ENST00000528494; ENSP00000432412; ENSG00000175224. ENST00000529655; ENSP00000433756; ENSG00000175224. ENST00000530500; ENSP00000434390; ENSG00000175224.
GeneID	9776.
KEGG	hsa:9776.
UCSC	uc001ncz.3. human. uc001ndb.3. human.
Organism-specific databases
CTD	9776.
GeneCards	GC11P046638.
HGNC	HGNC:29091. ATG13.
HPA	HPA039350.
MIM	615088. gene.
neXtProt	NX_O75143.
PharmGKB	PA165543187.
HUGE	Search...
GenAtlas	Search...
Phylogenomic databases
eggNOG	NOG266388.
HOGENOM	HOG000008446.
OMA	LGEKICT.
PhylomeDB	O75143.
Gene expression databases
ArrayExpress	O75143.
Bgee	O75143.
CleanEx	HS_KIAA0652.
Genevestigator	O75143.
GermOnline	ENSG00000175224. Homo sapiens.
Family and domain databases
InterPro	IPR018731. Autophagy-rel_p13. [Graphical view]
Pfam	PF10033. ATG13. 1 hit. [Graphical view]
ProtoNet	Search...
Other
ChiTaRS	ATG13. human.
GenomeRNAi	9776.
NextBio	36806.
SOURCE	Search...

Entry information

Entry name

ATG13_HUMAN

Accession

Primary (citable) accession number: O75143
Secondary accession number(s): B4DFI4 , D3DQQ1, D3DQQ2, E9PQZ8, Q53EN6, Q9BRL3, Q9H8B0

Entry history

Integrated into UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot:	January 23, 2002
Last sequence update:	November 1, 1998
Last modified:	May 1, 2013
This is version 99 of the entry and version 1 of the sequence. [Complete history]

Entry status

Reviewed (UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot)

Annotation program

Chordata Protein Annotation Program

Disclaimer

Any medical or genetic information present in this entry is provided for research, educational and informational purposes only. It is not in any way intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or care.