Understanding the Interplay between Autophagy and Neurodegeneration

Dear Colleagues,

Autophagy (or macroautophagy) is one of the most important cellular mechanisms involved in the maintenance of homeostasis in the Central Nervous System. It is characterized by the formation of well-known double-membrane vesicles or autophagosomes, which trap dysfunctional organelles and intracellular material potentially dangerous for neural cells, such as misfolded proteins, and deliver them to lysosomes for enzymatic degradation. This catabolic process is essential to avoid the accumulation of toxic content in neurons, and it is tightly controlled by key proteins such as mTOR, Ulk1, Beclin-1 and several ATG proteins. Although autophagic activity is induced in response to stressful situations to mitigate neuronal damage, long-term dysregulation of this pathway, by upregulation or downregulation, has emerged as a relevant cause of neurodegeneration, which contributes to the progression of many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson´s disease or Alzheimer disease. This Special Issue welcomes experts in the field to submit original research articles and reviews focused on studying the relationship between autophagy and neurodegeneration, including how autophagy imbalance aggravates neuronal survival and contributes to neurodegenerative diseases, as well as how new therapeutic alternatives could reduce neurodegeneration through autophagy modulation.

Dr. María Dolores Pérez-Carrión
Prof. Dr. Inmaculada Posadas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• autophagy
• neurodegeneration
• ATG
• protein aggregates
• misfolded proteins
• toxic stimuli