Fig. 3 |. Autophagy in health and disease.

a, Autophagy participates in multiple processes that are essential for longevity. b, A brief summary of some of the major known mechanisms that regulate autophagy in multiple organisms and their influence on the process. c, A list summarizing premature aging diseases with impaired mitophagy as a cause of mitochondrial dysfunction, which contributes to short lifespan (LS) and healthspan (HS). These premature aging diseases are ataxia telangiectasia (AT), Cockayne syndrome (CS), Fanconi anemia (FA), Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome (HG), Werner syndrome (WS) and xeroderma pigmentosum (XP; especially group A). Changes in autophagy and mitophagy in Hutchinson–Gilford syndrome are elusive. d, Autophagy (including subtypes of selective autophagy, such as mitophagy) is impaired in broad neurodegenerative diseases, where impairment may drive or exacerbate disease progression. These diseases include AD, Parkinson’s disease (PD), Huntington’s disease, ALS and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). We emphasize that these are not the only drivers of the diseases and other processes may have roles leading to pathology and symptomatology.