Control of autophagy in parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a dysregulation of cellular degradation system. An accumulation of misfolded proteins has been founded in the brains of parkinsonian patients, causing neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, and leading to a progressive neurodegeneration. Autophagy plays an important role in the progression of PD. In this chapter, we analyze the relationship of different types of autophagy (microautophagy, chaperone- mediated autophagy (CMA) and macroautophagy) with the oxidative stress and with several proteins involved in PD, showing deregulation of these degradative processes when these proteins are mutated. Also, we show a possible therapeutic alternative based on autophagy inducers that might be a potential drug for PD treatment.