Regulation and Roles of Autophagy at Synapses

Genetic studies have demonstrated that conditional ablation of core autophagy genes in the neural lineage leads to progressive neurodegeneration, indicating that this catabolic pathway is indispensable for neuronal maintenance. However, accumulating evidence also indicates that autophagy is not merely a housekeeping process. Instead, autophagy may be dynamically regulated in different neuronal compartments and dictate the turnover of selected cargo in a time- and space-dependent manner and thus contribute to specialized neuronal functions. Here, we review the mechanisms regulating autophagy in neurons and discuss recent findings on the role of autophagy in synaptic morphology and function. Moreover, we discuss relevant questions that remain open and highlight forthcoming issues in the field of neuronal autophagy.