ATG3 and chronic kidney disease: Our evidence in this study demonstrate that the genes related to autophagy including Atg-3, Atg-12, LC3-II and Beclin-1 were increased in muscles of CKD rats, as well as in C2C12 myotubes treated with TNF-α, which suggests that the activation of ALS mediates the degradation of myofibrillar and nonmyofibrillar proteins.