Cell death pathways and autophagy in the central nervous system and its involvement in neurodegeneration, immunity and central nervous system infection: to die or not to die - that is the question
Volume
168
Pagination
52 - 57
DOI
10.1111/j.1365-2249.2011.04544.x
Journal
CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL IMMUNOLOGY
Issue
ISSN
0009-9104
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Death rules our lives. In this short paper, we summarize new insights into molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration. Here we review the most important processes of cell death: apoptosis and oncosis. We focus on autophagy, which is pivotal for neuronal homeostasis, in the context of neurodegeneration, infection and immunity. Its dysfunction has been linked to several neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Huntington's and Alzheimer's diseases. Our understanding is still incomplete, but may highlight attractive new avenues for the development of treatment strategies to combat neurodegenerative diseases.