Autophagy in ageing and ageing-associated diseases
Abstract
Li-qiang HE1, #, Jia-hong LU1, 2, Zhen-yu YUE1, *
1Departments of Neurology and Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA; 2School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
Autophagy is a cell self-digestion process via lysosomes that clears “cellular waste”, including aberrantly modified proteins or protein aggregates and damaged organelles. Therefore, autophagy is considered a protein and organelle quality control mechanism that maintains normal cellular homeostasis. Dysfunctional autophagy has been observed in ageing tissues and several ageing-associated diseases. Lifespan of model organisms such as yeast, worms, flies, and mice can be extended through promoting autophagy, either by genetic manipulations such as over-expression of Sirtuin 1, or by administrations of rapamycin, resveratrol or spermidine. The evidence supports that autophagy may play an important role in delaying ageing or extending lifespan. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about autophagy and its regulation, outline recent developments ie the genetic and pharmacological manipulations of autophagy that affects the lifespan, and discuss the role of autophagy in the ageing-related diseases.
Keywords: autophagy; ageing; ageing-associated diseases; cancer; neurodegenerative diseases; Sirtuin 1; p53; rapamycin; resveratrol; spermidine
This study is supported by the NIH/NCI grant 1R21CA160280-01A1 (Yaguang XI). We sincerely convey our apology to the colleagues who have greatly contributed to this field but whose publications were not cited in this review due to limitations of time and space.
# Now in Center for Neurodegenerative and Neuroimmunologic Diseases, Department of Neurology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
E-mail zhenyu.yue@mssm.edu
Received 2012-08-10 Accepted 2012-10-22
Keywords:
1Departments of Neurology and Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA; 2School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
Autophagy is a cell self-digestion process via lysosomes that clears “cellular waste”, including aberrantly modified proteins or protein aggregates and damaged organelles. Therefore, autophagy is considered a protein and organelle quality control mechanism that maintains normal cellular homeostasis. Dysfunctional autophagy has been observed in ageing tissues and several ageing-associated diseases. Lifespan of model organisms such as yeast, worms, flies, and mice can be extended through promoting autophagy, either by genetic manipulations such as over-expression of Sirtuin 1, or by administrations of rapamycin, resveratrol or spermidine. The evidence supports that autophagy may play an important role in delaying ageing or extending lifespan. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about autophagy and its regulation, outline recent developments ie the genetic and pharmacological manipulations of autophagy that affects the lifespan, and discuss the role of autophagy in the ageing-related diseases.
Keywords: autophagy; ageing; ageing-associated diseases; cancer; neurodegenerative diseases; Sirtuin 1; p53; rapamycin; resveratrol; spermidine
This study is supported by the NIH/NCI grant 1R21CA160280-01A1 (Yaguang XI). We sincerely convey our apology to the colleagues who have greatly contributed to this field but whose publications were not cited in this review due to limitations of time and space.
# Now in Center for Neurodegenerative and Neuroimmunologic Diseases, Department of Neurology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
E-mail zhenyu.yue@mssm.edu
Received 2012-08-10 Accepted 2012-10-22