Yes, the housework can wait.

We have far more important things to clean. Beginning with our cells.

Autophagy is the (wait for it) natural, conserved degradation of the cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components through a lysosome-dependent regulated mechanism and allows the orderly degradation and recycling of cellular components. Which sounds like something a biologist would say.

In plain English, autophagy means the capacity for our cells to naturally rid themselves of toxic material, mostly unnecessary or damaged components. As we age, this self-cleaning is performed less efficiently with a buildup of errors and glitches that lead to all manner of diseases.

Rising life expectancy is seeing a surge of age-related disorders like Alzheimer’s and heart disease. Alzheimer’s disease alone affects more than 5.8 million people in the US. This is projected to nearly triple to 14 million people by 2060.

Targeting autophagy and the underlying processes of ageing means we can tackle multiple diseases simultaneously. We can slow down age-related deterioration and stay healthier for longer.

Eat less, live long

One known way to induce autophagy is through caloric restriction. Consuming less food, or restricting an organism’s feeding hours within a given day, activates autophagy.

When the diet of an organism is restricted, its cells become deprived of glucose and begin to consume their own redundant material to generate energy. Cells are forced into a detoxifying state of autophagy to sustain themselves.

Prevent diseases

Because most of us don’t like starving ourselves, researchers are looking for a pill than can pharmaceutically boost autophagy.

Several promising drug candidates have already been identified. Most notable are Urolithin A (produced by certain gut bacteria after they’ve been fed with ellagitannins, which are found in pomegranates, strawberries, raspberries and walnuts) and rapamycin (a natural antifungal produced by soil bacteria).

In mice, worms and fruit flies, these compounds have been found to dramatically extend lifespan. They’ll soon be tested in human clinical trials.

If successful, we’ll have a drug like statins for cholesterol and ACE inhibitors to lower blood pressure.

Medicines that we can take daily to prevent a range of debilitating diseases before they occur.

Reference

“Cellular spring cleaning may keep us youthful and healthy for longer” Horizon (2022)