Fig. 1

Autophagy regulates synaptic development and activity. In the presynaptic site, autophagy genes, such as ALFY, Atg9 and Atg1, regulate exon guidance and outgrowth, neuromuscular junction (NMJ) and synapse formation. Atg5 and Atg7 regulate neurotransmission. Atg5 mediated autophagy regulates neurotransmission through regulation of ER turnover. In the postsynaptic site, autophagy mediates synaptic pruning through the degradation of PSD95 and phosphorylated PSD95. Besides, autophagy regulates NMDAR-LTD by the removal of AMPA receptors from postsynaptic membranes to late endosomes for degradation to control synaptic plasticity