Autophagy is a highly regulated cellular mechanism that results in the bulk degradation of long-lived proteins and organelles and which seems to be implicated in a variety of physiological and pathological conditions relevant to neurological diseases. The formation of intraneuronal mutant protein aggregates is a characteristic of several human neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, and polyglutamine disorders such as Huntington's disease (HD). Autophagy is a major clearance pathway for the removal of the mutant huntingtin protein associated with HD, and many other disease-causing, cytoplasmic, aggregate-prone proteins. Autophagy is negatively regulated by the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and can be induced in all mammalian cell types by the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. It can also be induced by an mTOR-independent pathway, which has multiple drug targets, involving links between Ca2+-calpain-Gsa and cAMP-Epac-PLC-e-IP3 signaling. Both pathways enhance the process of autophagy. In this review, we describe the various drugs and pathways that induce autophagy that are potential therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative disorders.
Alzheimer Disease ; Autophagy ; Cytoplasm ; Humans ; Huntington Disease ; Mutant Proteins ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Organelles ; Parkinson Disease ; Peptides ; Proteins ; Sirolimus

Background: Alloantibodies against red blood cells (RBC) found in pregnant women can cause hemolytic disease in the fetus and newborn (HDFN). Therefore, checking and carefully observing the mother’s unexpected alloantibodies is essential during pregnancy. This study examined the frequency of unexpected antibodies according to the department. Methods: For patients who visited the authors’ hospital from December 31, 2020 to May 1, 2023 the results of RBC antibody screening and unexpected antibody identification tests were collected and classified according to the department. The antibody screening test was detected with Qwalys-3 DIAGAST, Loos Cedex, France) equipment using ABS HEMASCREEN (DIAGAST), and the antibody identification test was performed using the Resolve panel (Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, San Diego, USA). The difference in frequency of each antibody according to the patient group was tested using Pearson’s chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test according to the relative frequency. Results: Among 46,193 patients who underwent unexpected antibody screening, 9,531 were obstetrics, and 18,313 were infertility centers. One hundred and seventy-seven patients underwent the unexpected antibody identification test: 57 obstetrics patients, 42 infertility center patients, and 78 positive patients who visited other departments.One hundred and ninety-three antibodies were identified, and there was no significant difference in the positive rate of unexpected antibodies by department. The antibody identified with the highest frequency was anti-M (18.1%) followed by anti-E (13.5%). Conclusion In the East Asian population, anti-M is frequently reported, causing clinical problems. Anti-M was also commonly observed in this study; so, the clinical features should be carefully observed if anti-M is identified.