Scientists from Osaka University said that the aging process at the cellular level is associated with the body’s inability to remove unnecessary or damaged components as well as pathogens through the microautophagy process. Research results published In EMBO Reports (European Molecular Biology Organization).
Microautophagy is a regulated process by which cells in the body eliminate damaged organelles (cell components), defective proteins, and pathogens. These molecules are broken down in special intracellular membrane vesicles – lysosomes. Damage or dysfunction of lysosomes is a sign of the aging process and the development of many diseases, especially neurodegenerative ones.
Scientists sought to find out what promotes the restoration of these membrane organelles. They focused on a signaling pathway called Hippo, which controls many processes, including cell growth. The scientists disrupted individual components of the Hippo pathway in human cells and then monitored whether the cells could respond to lysosomal damage.
It turns out that a protein called serine-threonine kinase 38 (STK38) is required for the lysosomal damage response. This protein works with the endosomal protein sorting complex, which is responsible for transporting lysosomal enzymes that break down components the body does not need. This process is important because it is the main way damaged proteins are broken down. Scientists also discovered that the involvement of GABARAP family proteins is required to initiate the lysosome repair process. As a result of lipidation (a special type of modification), these proteins can be converted into single-membrane endolysosomes that “clean” the cells.
The researchers are confident that their work will identify methods that target the Hippo signaling pathway that could potentially prevent cellular aging.
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