Mechanism and Role of Autophagy in Neural Stem Cells

Lu Li, Chang-Tai Xu

Recent emphasis has been on autophagy of neural stem cells (NSCs), playing an important role in the innate and adaptive immune responses, although the mechanism is not very clear. Autophagy pathway function can be isolated by cell stress components, such as intracellular pathogens and damaged organelles, and prolong the life-span of cell. There are many types of autophagy and its role is to eliminate the useless and recover cellular components in the cells, as results to maintain normal metabolism, provide the necessary energy when hungry, and keep a steady state in other emergency conditions. Autophagy related gene plays an important role in the process of the occurrence and development of autophagy in NSCs, at the same time the autophagy pathways play synergistic effects with these genes. Any genetic changes are likely to occur in neurodegenerative diseases by autophagy. Autophagy can be induced, and can also be inhibited, and transformed into each other. In this paper, the effect and mechanism of autophagy and autophagy-related genes and the role of autophagy in NSCs, and the influence of nerve disease were reviewed.