FIGURE 3.

The mechanisms and therapeutic targets of autophagy in neurodegenerative diseases. An increasing number of genes associated with neurodegenerative diseases, especially AD, PD, HD, and ALS, act at different steps throughout the autophagic process. Their proposed sites of action, as well as associated neurodegenerative diseases are indicated. The protein aggregates, supposed to be degraded by the autophagy–lysosome pathway, accumulate and contribute to neurodegenerative diseases when autophagy is defective. AD, Alzheimer's disease; PD, Parkinson's disease; HD, Huntington's disease; ALS, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis