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Updated: Oct 3, 2025

In Situ Immunofluorescent Staining of Autophagy in Muscle Stem Cells
Published on: June 12, 2017
Autophagy system as a potential therapeutic target for neurodegenerative diseases
Mengying Cui1, Tamotsu Yoshimori2, Shuhei Nakamura3
1Department of Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
Abstract:
Autophagy is an evolutionally conserved process by which cytoplasmic contents including protein aggregates and damaged organelles such as mitochondria and lysosomes, are sequestered by double-membrane structure, autophagosomes, and delivered to the lysosomes for degradation. Recently, considerable efforts have been made to reveal the role of autophagy in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. Impairment of autophagy aggravates the accumulation of misfolded protein and damaged organelles in neurons, while sufficient autophagic activity reduces such accumulation in nervous system and ameliorates the pathology. Here we summarize recent progress regarding the role of autophagy in several neurodegenerative diseases and the potential autophagy-associated therapies for them.
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