Autophagy


- Definition:
- "Self-eating" (auto = self, phagy = eating).
- Also "self-feeding," "cell cannibalism."
- Nobel Prize: Sir Yoshinori Ohsumi (2016).
- Conditions:
- Old age
- Malnutrition
- Linked to neurodegenerative conditions:
- Alzheimer's
- Parkinson's disease.
- Marker:
- LC3 (Light Chain 3).
- Most Important Gene:
- ATG1 (Autophagy-related gene 1).
Diseases (ATG Gene Mutations):
- ATG 5 gene mutation:
- Risk of tuberculosis
- ATG 16L mutation:
- Associated with IBD
- (Crohn's, ulcerative colitis).