Access

News and Views

Nature Chemical Biology 3, 304–306 (1 June 2007) | doi:10.1038/nchembio0607-304

Stimulating the cell's appetite for itself

Anne Simonsen & Harald Stenmark

Induction of a process that augments the cell's capacity to degrade intracellular protein aggregates is a goal in therapy of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease. These diseases are characterized by accumulation of intracellular protein aggregates in nerve cells, which ultimately cause cell death and ensuing loss of brain functions.