Mutant huntingtin, some other polyglutamine expanded proteins like mutant ataxin 3, and proteins like tau (which mediates toxicity in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias) are autophagy substrates and their clearance can be enhanced in Drosophila and mouse models by autophagy upregulation, which also reduces their toxicity.2, 3, 4,6. The gene discussed is MAPT; the disease is early-onset autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease.