Research shows autophagy alters neuronal excitability in response to calcium release, suggesting its role in seizure susceptibility.
Macroautophagy/autophagy is best known for its role in maintaining cellular homeostasis through degradation of damaged proteins and organelles. In neurons, autophagy also contributes to the regulation of activity by adjusting the availability of cellular components to physiological demand. In a recent study, we show that autophagy shapes neuronal excitability by restraining a calcium-dependent pathway that couples endoplasmic reticulum calcium release to KCNMA1/BKCa activity at the plasma membrane. When autophagy is lost, this pathway is enhanced, and seizure susceptibility increases.
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Kochlamazashvili et al. (2025) studied this question.
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