On: Autophagy, Caloric Restriction Mimetics, Fasting & Protein Acetylation

Episode: N/A

Date: July 2017

Key Subjects:

• See Autophagy write-up.
• Autophagy is an evolutionary tool to remove damaged cell parts in response to environmental stress in a targeted manner allowing for regeneration.
• Fasting may be one of the mechanisms to bring about autophagy.
  • May help in allowing the body to recover from stress, inflammation.
  • Discussion provides a helpful reminder of difficulty in comparing mice trials to human experience in fasting:
    • When mice fast for 2 days, they lose about 20% of their body weight…
• Spermidine seems to induce autophagy (as does caffeine…):
  • Alternative for fasting.

Key Takeaways:

• Investigate spermidine (natto, aged cheese, etc.)
  • “Spermidine in health and disease”, Frank Madeo, Tobias Eisenberg, Federico Pietrocola, Guido Kroemer, Science, 26 Jan 2018, Vol. 359, Issue 6374.
  • https://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6374/eaan2788

Worth Listening:

Dry and technical, but helpful primer on autophagy.

7/10