Autophagy in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Hunter for Aggregates

• Main Authors: Hyungsun Park, Ju-Hee Kang, Seongju Lee
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: autophagy; neurodegenerative disease; protein aggregates
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/9/3369

Cells have developed elaborate quality-control mechanisms for proteins and organelles to maintain cellular homeostasis. Such quality-control mechanisms are maintained by conformational folding via molecular chaperones and by degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome or autophagy-lysosome system. Accumulating evidence suggests that impaired autophagy contributes to the accumulation of intracellular inclusion bodies consisting of misfolded proteins, which is a hallmark of most neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, genetic mutations in core autophagy-related genes have been reported to be linked to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease. Conversely, the pathogenic proteins, such as amyloid β and α-synuclein, are detrimental to the autophagy pathway. Here, we review the recent advances in understanding the relationship between autophagic defects and the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and suggest autophagy induction as a promising strategy for the treatment of these conditions.