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Review
. 2018 Aug;33(4):989-1008.
doi: 10.1007/s11011-018-0214-6. Epub 2018 Mar 14.

Autophagy stimulation as a promising approach in treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Karolina Pierzynowska  1 , Lidia Gaffke  1 , Zuzanna Cyske  1 , Michał Puchalski  1 , Estera Rintz  1 , Michał Bartkowski  1 , Marta Osiadły  1 , Michał Pierzynowski  1 , Jagoda Mantej  1 , Ewa Piotrowska  1 , Grzegorz Węgrzyn  2
Affiliations
Review

Autophagy stimulation as a promising approach in treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Karolina Pierzynowska et al. Metab Brain Dis. 2018 Aug.

Abstract

Autophagy is a process of degradation of macromolecules in the cytoplasm, particularly proteins of a long half-life, as well as whole organelles, in eukaryotic cells. Lysosomes play crucial roles during this degradation. Autophagy is a phylogenetically old, and evolutionarily conserved phenomenon which occurs in all eukaryotic cells. It can be found in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, insect Drosophila melanogaster, and mammals, including humans. Its high importance for cell physiology has been recognized, and in fact, dysfunctions causing impaired autophagy are associated with many severe disorders, including cancer and metabolic brain diseases. The types and molecular mechanisms of autophagy have been reviewed recently by others, and in this paper they will be summarized only briefly. Regulatory networks controlling the autophagy process are usually described as negative regulations. In contrast, here, we focus on different ways by which autophagy can be stimulated. In fact, activation of this process by different factors or processes can be considered as a therapeutic strategy in metabolic neurodegenerative diseases. These aspects are reviewed and discussed in this article.

Keywords: Autophagy stimulation; Lysosomes; Neurodegenerative diseases; Therapeutic strategies.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Pathways of autophagy stimulation. Detailed description is provided in the text
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