Selective autophagy: The new player in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases?

Abstract Autophagyis the lysosome-mediated bulk degradation of cellular componentsfor material recycling to maintain cellular homeostasis. Autophagywas initially regarded as a nonselective process, however, recent evidence indicates that this process can in fact be highly selective, especially for targeting and degrading organelles, invading pathogens and protein aggregates. Recent studies have revealed an intrinsic connection between selective autophagyand neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Given the vital roles of selective autophagyin these neurodegenerative diseases, modulation of this process is emerging as a new therapeutic strategy for neuroprotection. This review introduces the concept of selective autophagy, provides an overview of the pathological connection between selective autophagyand neurodegenerative diseases, and discusses approaches to modulate selective autophagyfor therapeutic effects against neurodegenerative diseases.