自噬与神经系统退行性疾病的研究进展

Research progress on autophagy and nervous system degenerative diseases

自噬(autophagy)是一种在真核细胞中广泛存在的重要过程,其与细胞生长、发育以及多种疾病有着重要的联系。自噬通过自噬溶酶体来吞噬降解受损的细胞器以及异常蛋白,并释放出对细胞有利的小分子物质进行二次利用,以维持细胞内稳态。自噬既是一种保护机制,也被认为是一种有关于细胞程序性死亡的死亡机制。自噬因其具有"双刃剑"的特点,在神经系统损伤以及神经系统退行性疾病(如阿尔茨海默症、帕金森病和亨廷顿舞蹈病等)中起着重要作用。深入了解研究自噬的调节机制,对于神经系统退行性疾病的预防以及治疗有着重要意义。

Autophagy is an important process which is widespread in eukaryotic cells, and it is closely associated with cell growth and development as well as a series of diseases. Autophagy lets the autophagosomes devour and degrade the damaged organelles and abnormal proteins, and then the released small molecules which are useful substances for the cells are employed for secondary use so as to maintain intracellular homeostasis. Not only is autophagy a protective mechanism, it is also considered to be a mechanism of death associated with programmed cell death. Autophagy due to the features of ＂double-edged sword＂, plays an important role in the nervous system damage and neurodegenerative diseases （such as Alzheimer＆apos;s disease, Parkinson＆apos;s disease and Huntington＆apos;s disease）. It is of great value to intensively study the regulating mechanism of autophagy for preventing and treating neurodegenerative diseases.