Autophagy: what it is and how a Nobel laureate's discovery can hack our lives

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Japanese scientist Yoshinori Ohsumi received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of the mechanisms of autophagy - the process by which cells partly "eat" themselves to stay healthy. Osumi's discoveries shed light on the use of autophagy in the treatment of a wide variety of diseases.

Autophagy is a natural process of the body's life. All cells can partially "eat" themselves, getting rid of old or damaged areas. By processing its own material in this way, the cell receives new resources for recovery and further functioning.

Autophagy is involved in a variety of processes, from fighting bacterial and viral infections to cell renewal in the developing embryo.

Yoshinori Osumi, a cell biologist at the Tokyo University of Technology, began studying the phenomenon of autophagy back in 1992. Initially, he looked at the genes responsible for "self-eating" in yeast cells. Later it turned out that autophagy processes have an impact on various human diseases, including cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases.

Now scientists are testing drugs that can target the autophagy processes. This will fundamentally change the way we fight cancer and how we treat mental disorders associated with cognitive decline.

Controlling Autophagy Processes May Help Treat Cancer and Brain Diseases

If autophagy processes are slowed down or disrupted, the cell loses its ability to destroy abnormal proteins, wasted cellular structures and harmful microbes. The sequence of events is not yet entirely clear: do the disturbed autophagy processes lead to the onset of the disease, or does the disease cause a malfunction of the autophagy mechanisms.

However, the link between autophagy and neurodegenerative disorders has not been questioned. It manifests itself, for example, in Parkinson's disease Melinda A. Lynch-Day, Kai Mao, Ke Wang. … … This disease is characterized by the presence of abnormal protein formations, Lewy bodies, which are distributed in the brain. Scientists believe that impaired autophagy processes just lead to the fact that brain cells stop "eating" these abnormal proteins M. Xilouri M., O. R. Brekk OR, L. Stefanis. … …

Likewise, amyloid accumulations can form in the brain. It is a harmful protein that scientists believe is Alzheimer's.

The ability to re-start the autophagy processes in people with neurodegenerative diseases will slow down or even completely stop the accumulation of harmful proteins in the brain.

This was confirmed in the first phase of one study in which patients with Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia received daily small doses of a leukemia drug that stimulates autophagy. Within six months, patients noticed an improvement in their motor skills and mental performance. …

Researchers are also looking at the possibility that overly active autophagy can promote the development and spread of cancer cells. Most likely, accelerated autophagy allows tumor cells to regenerate faster than usual.

Clinical research is underway to find an answer to the question of whether slowing down the autophagy process will actually help improve the effectiveness of traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.

Although the cellular processes that Osumi studied were already known to scientists, no one has yet seen their value for human health. Osumi's discoveries shed light on the potential use of these processes in the treatment of various diseases.

After learning about, Osumi encouraged young scientists to join him in further research on autophagy.

There is no finish line in science. When you find the answer to one question, another immediately arises. I never thought I answered all the questions. That is why I continue to ask the yeast.

Yoshinori Osumi