VPS13A is closely associated with mitochondria and is required for efficient lysosomal degradation.

Members of the VPS13 family are associated with various human diseases. In particular, the loss of function of VPS13A leads to chorea-acanthocytosis (ChAc), a rare neurodegenerative disease without available curative treatments. Autophagy has been considered a promising therapeutic target because the absence of VPS13A causes a defective autophagy flux. However, the mechanistic details of this deficiency are unknown. Here, we identified Rab7A as an interactor of one of the VPS13 family members in Dictyostelium discoideum