Abstract

Macroautophagy is a vesicle process responsible for the degradation of dysfunctional organelles and misfolded or aggregated proteins. It constitutes an essential pathway for cellular homeostasis maintenance, especially to nonmitotic cells such as neurons. Most central nervous system diseases present aging as the major risk factor for their development and a definitive cure is still elusive. Manipulation of macroautophagy levels became an attractive way to treat several brain disorders in the past years, including the most devasting neurodegenerative diseases worldwide, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, accumulating evidence indicates that macroautophagy impairment could in fact contribute to the neurodegeneration process itself, challenging therapeutic strategies targeting macroautophagy. In this chapter, we include examples of macroautophagy defects involved in brain disorders, with a special focus on AD and ALS.