{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T18:34:26Z","timestamp":1791225266538,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"The Company of Biologists","issue":"6","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2007,3,15]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Necrotic cell death is a common feature in numerous human neurodegenerative disorders. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, gain-of-function mutations in genes that encode specific ion channel subunits such as the degenerins DEG-1 and MEC-4, and the acetylcholine receptor subunit DEG-3 lead to necrotic-like degeneration of a subset of neurons. Neuronal demise caused by ion channel hyperactivity is accompanied by intense degradation of cytoplasmic contents, dramatic membrane infolding and vacuole formation; however, the cellular pathways underlying such processes remain largely unknown. Here we show that the function of three autophagy genes, whose yeast and mammalian orthologs are implicated in cytoplasmic self-degradation, membrane trafficking and the cellular response to starvation, contributes to ion-channel-dependent neurotoxicity in C. elegans. Inactivation of unc-51, bec-1 and lgg-1, the worm counterparts of the yeast autophagy genes Atg1, Atg6 and Atg8 respectively, partially suppresses degeneration of neurons with toxic ion channel variants. We also demonstrate that the TOR-kinase-mediated signaling pathway, a nutrient sensing system that downregulates the autophagy gene cascade, protects neurons from undergoing necrotic cell death, whereas nutrient deprivation promotes necrosis. Our findings reveal a role for autophagy genes in neuronal cell loss in C. elegans.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1242\/jcs.03401","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2007,2,28]],"date-time":"2007-02-28T02:51:46Z","timestamp":1172631106000},"page":"1134-1141","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":67,"title":["Influence of autophagy genes on ion-channel-dependent neuronal degeneration in <i>Caenorhabditis elegans<\/i>"],"prefix":"10.1242","volume":"120","author":[{"given":"Ma\u0301rton L.","family":"To\u0301th","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Genetics, Eo\u0308tvo\u0308s Lora\u0301nd University, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pe\u0301ter","family":"Simon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Genetics, Eo\u0308tvo\u0308s Lora\u0301nd University, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Attila L.","family":"Kova\u0301cs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology, Eo\u0308tvo\u0308s Lora\u0301nd University, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tibor","family":"Vellai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Genetics, Eo\u0308tvo\u0308s Lora\u0301nd University, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"237","reference":[{"key":"2021042520094627900_REF1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Artal-Sanz, M., Samara, C., Syntichaki, P. and Tavernarakis, N. 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