Neurodegeneration

Autophagy and Neurodegenerative Disease

Animal and human studies have shown that autophagy is protective against neurodegeneration, and defects in autophagy pathways are associated with diseased brains. For example, the lack of ATG5 or ATG7 results in neurodegeneration of the CNS in mice. Decreased autophagic function can result from gene mutations that inhibit autophagosome maturation and lysosome fusion, or from aging-related declines in CNS expression of autophagy proteins. Therapies that activate the autophagy pathways are therefore being investigated as treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. Proper activation of autophagy can maintain neuronal health through several mechanisms, including aggrephagy and mitophagy, both of which are forms of selective macroautophagy.