title: Autophagy, neuron-specific degradation and neurodegeneration.
abstract: Degradation of membrane compartments, organelles and other debris through macroautophagy (hereafter referred to as autophagy) is thought to occur in most, maybe all, cells. We recently reported the discovery of a neuron-specific endomembrane degradation mechanism that depends on the vesicle SNARE neuronal Synaptobrevin (n-Syb) and the vesicle ATPase component V100 (the V(0)a1 subunit). Loss of n-Syb causes degeneration of adult photoreceptor neurons in Drosophila, reminiscent of adult-onset degeneration in neurons with defective autophagy. Here we explore the potential importance of this newly discovered neuron-specific degradation mechanism in comparison with ubiquitous autophagy machinery for adult-onset neurodegeneration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: P Robin
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Hiesinger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy / Q000235:genetics; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000378:metabolism; D011992:Endosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000473:pathology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D009928:Organ Specificity