Together with the here-presented discovery of SKP2 as K48-linking E3 ligase of BECN1, this points to the intriguing possibility that inhibiting SKP2 using small molecule inhibitors might counteract deleterious effects of soluble proteins with polyQ expansions that are held responsible for causing neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease and ataxin 3 in spinocerebellar ataxia64. This evidence concerns the gene BECN1 and neurodegenerative disease.