Eu percebo bem o que é e quando ocorre a autofagia muito obrigado...
"A process by which a cell breaks down and destroys old, damaged, or abnormal proteins and other substances in its cytoplasm (the fluid inside a cell). The breakdown products are then recycled for important cell functions, especially during periods of stress or starvation. Autophagy also helps destroy bacteria and viruses that cause infection and may prevent normal cells from becoming cancer cells. "
What is autophagy?
Autophagy (pronounced “ah-TAH-fah-gee”) is your body’s process of reusing old and damaged cell parts. Cells are the basic building blocks of every tissue and organ in your body. Each cell contains multiple parts that keep it functioning. Over time, these parts can become defective or stop working. They become litter, or junk, inside an otherwise healthy cell.
Autophagy is your body’s cellular recycling system. It allows a cell to disassemble its junk parts and repurpose the salvageable bits and pieces into new, usable cell parts. A cell can discard the parts it doesn’t need.
Autophagy is also quality control for your cells. Too many junk components in a cell take up space and can slow or prevent a cell from functioning correctly. Autophagy remakes the clutter into the selected cell components you need, optimizing your cells’ performance.
Why is autophagy important?
Autophagy is essential for a cell to survive and function. Autophagy:
- Recycles damaged cell parts into fully functioning cell parts.
- Gets rid of nonfunctional cell parts that take up space and slow performance.
- Destroys pathogens in a cell that can damage it, like viruses and bacteria.
Autophagy plays an important role when it comes to aging and longevity, too. As a person ages, autophagy decreases, which can lead to a build-up of cellular junk parts and, in turn, cells that aren’t functioning at their best.
What happens during autophagy?
Autophagy-related proteins (ATGs) make autophagy possible. ATGs cause structures called autophagosomes to form. Autophagosomes carry the junk cell pieces to a part of the cell called a lysosome. A lysosome’s job is to digest or break down other cell parts.
Imagine lysosomes — part of a cell — eating other parts of the cell. The word “autophagy” is a combination of two Greek words translated to mean “self-devouring”:
- “Autos” means self.
- “Phagomai” means to eat.
Lysosomes eat the junk cell parts and then release the reusable bits and pieces. The cells use these raw materials to make new parts.
What causes autophagy?
Autophagy occurs when your body’s cells are deprived of nutrients or oxygen or if they’re damaged in some way.
Think of it this way: Autophagy is a recycling process that makes the most of a cell’s already-existing energy resources. The process ramps up when your body has to make the most of these resources because your cells aren’t getting them from an outside source.
With autophagy, a cell essentially eats itself to survive. The bonus is that this survival process can lead to cells that work more efficiently.
Can you induce autophagy?
You can induce autophagy by stressing your cells to send them into survival mode. You can induce autophagy through:
- Fasting: Fasting means that you stop eating for a certain amount of time. Fasting deprives your body of nutrients, forcing it to repurpose cell components to function.
- Calorie restriction: Restricting your calories means decreasing the number of energy units, or calories, your body consumes. Instead of depriving your body of calories completely (as with fasting), you limit them. This forces your cells into autophagy to compensate for the lost nutrients.
Etc,etc,etc...
