Autophagy
A cellular recycling process in which cells break down and recycle their own damaged components. Autophagy maintains cellular health and is increasingly studied in the context of ageing, neurodegeneration, and metabolic disease. Some research peptides are investigated for potential autophagy-modulating effects.
Technical Context
Autophagy involves formation of double-membrane autophagosomes that engulf cytoplasmic cargo (damaged mitochondria — mitophagy; protein aggregates — aggrephagy; invading pathogens — xenophagy), then fuse with lysosomes for degradation. The process is regulated by over 30 autophagy-related (ATG) proteins and the mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) signalling pathway — mTOR inhibition activates autophagy. Nutrient deprivation, caloric restriction, and exercise are natural autophagy inducers. Autophagy intersects with peptide therapeutics in several contexts: metabolic disease (autophagy defects contribute to insulin resistance), neurodegeneration (impaired clearance of protein aggregates), and cancer (autophagy can be either tumour-suppressive or tumour-promoting depending on context).