The Role of Autophagy in Development and Degeneration

Autophagy is an essential protein degradation pathway to maintain intercellular homeostasis in eukaryotic cells. It requires lysosomes to degrade different cellular components such as proteins or organelles. There are three main primary forms of autophagy: macroautophagy, microautophagy, and chaperone mediated autophagy. Autophagy has been shown to play a role in both neurodevelopment and neurodegenerative disorders. Although it is considered a protective process when cells are faced with starving or stress conditions, a dysregulation in autophagy has been associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Huntington’s disease (HD). This dysregulation can result in the accumulation of proteins linked to these disorders such as PARK7 and Htt. Autophagy during brain development has been shown to be involved in the fine pruning process, however, can also be induced by organophosphate compounds which increases oxidative stress and thus damages neural stem cells. Neural stem cells play key roles in both embryonic and adult nervous system development.

The goal of this Research Topic is to explore the role of autophagy in neurodegeneration and neurodevelopment. This can include a dysregulation of autophagy for example chaperone mediated autophagy when degrading proteins linked to neurodegenerative disorders. As well as the impact of autophagy on neurodevelopment. This may include the detrimental effects of inducing autophagy in the developing brain. It will also be of interest to explore therapeutic options that target autophagy.

This Research Topic will include but is not limited to:

• Dysregulation of autophagy in neurodegenerative disorders

• The role of autophagy in the developing brain

• Potential therapeutics that target the autophagy pathway