The role of autophagy in neurodegenerative diseases

Abstract

Autophagy is a process where cytoplasmic components of the cell are transported into the lysosomes and degraded. Autophagy is a complex process that is necessary for the normal functioning of any eukaryotic cell. The neurons are among the cells that are the most sensitive to dysfunction of autophagy. Impaired autophagy at different stages leads to a wide variety of neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we discuss the stages and underlying molecular mechanisms of autophagy in detail and present the data that concern how impairments at one or more of these stages lead to the development of neurodegenerative diseases. The possibility of applying different therapeutic strategies of autophagy modulation for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases is discussed.