Autophagy in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Abstract

It is estimated that the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases will overtake cancer incidence to become the second most common cause of death after cardiovascular disease. Many of these diseases are associated with the inappropriate accumulation of proteins that are toxic to neurons. Normally, the accumulation of these proteins would be prevented by the appropriate activation of autophagy, a key cellular function regulated by activation of an endoplasmic reticulum stress and the unfolded protein response. This chapter discusses the role of autophagy in neurodegenerative disease, with a detailed description of how autophagy is activated and executed.