Marta Martínez and her group have analyzed the process of macroautophagy and have concluded that mutations in Hungtintin protein in Huntington’s patients inhibit the selective recognition of cytosolic components (especially damaged mitochondria) by the autophagic vacuoles responsible of destroying them. So they cannot cross the membrane and they accumulate within the neuronal cell. According to the researcher “the challenge now is to discover and test new autophagy-inducing drugs such as Rapamycin to generate new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.”

About Marta Martínez Vicente

Dr M. Martinez Vicente, is Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Valencia. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the Neurodegenerative Disease Research Lab. at the Research Institute Vall d’Hebron. Her research focuses on the role of autophagy in neurodegenerative diseases.