Alteration of the autophagic process is involved in neurodegeneration. The beclin 1 complex is shown to play a key role in the initial stage of autophagy. Dr. Yanming Wei and co-coworkers from College of Life Science, Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University in China pointed out the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-linked Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase 1 G93A mutant can upregulate autophagic activity in NSC34 cells, but that this does not markedly affect beclin 1 complex components. The relevant paper has been published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 1, 2014).
Article: " Autophagic induction of amyotrophic lateral sclerosislinked Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase 1 G93A mutant in NSC34 cells," by Yanming Wei (College of Life Science, Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi Province, China)
Wei YM. Autophagic induction of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-linked Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase 1 G93A mutant in NSC34 cells. Neural Regen Res. 2014;9(1):16-24.
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