Abstract
Aging is a multifactorial process involving an accumulation of alterations on various organizational levels, which finally compromises viability and limits the lifespan of organisms. It is now well-established that many aspects of aging can be positively affected by (macro)autophagy, a mechanism of self-digestion found in virtually all eukaryotic cells. A comprehensive understanding of autophagy is thus expected to not only deepen our insight into the mechanisms of aging but to also open up new avenues toward increasing the healthy lifespan in humans. In this review, we focus on the Atg8 family of ubiquitin-like proteins, which play a crucial role in the autophagy process by virtue of their unique mode of reversible membrane association.
Highlights
The term autophagy comprises a number of cellular degradation pathways which converge to the lysosomal compartment and are highly conserved in eukaryotic organisms
Using a human GABA type A receptor-associated protein (GABARAP) variant carrying a C-terminal cysteine residue for coupling to a reactive lipid, we have investigated the impact of lipidation on the structure of the protein: NMR spectroscopy revealed that the overall fold and ligand binding properties were largely unchanged with respect to the soluble counterpart (Ma et al, 2010)
Given that a wealth of experimental evidence qualifies this pathway as a core anti-aging mechanism in eukaryotic cells, sustaining juvenile levels of autophagy has emerged as a promising strategy to prolong healthy lifespan in humans
Summary
Of Proteins—Modulating Shape and Functionality of Autophagic Membranes. Aging is a multifactorial process involving an accumulation of alterations on various organizational levels, which compromises viability and limits the lifespan of organisms. It is well-established that many aspects of aging can be positively affected by (macro)autophagy, a mechanism of self-digestion found in virtually all eukaryotic cells. A comprehensive understanding of autophagy is expected to deepen our insight into the mechanisms of aging but to open up new avenues toward increasing the healthy lifespan in humans. We focus on the Atg family of ubiquitin-like proteins, which play a crucial role in the autophagy process by virtue of their unique mode of reversible membrane association
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