Autophagy and Intracellular Aggregates - Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo

In this video, Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine describes autophagy, its importance to cells, and its role in aging. She begins by discussing the basics of protein accumulation and degradation, then reviews different autophagic pathways. She explains macroautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy in detail as well as provides a brief overview of microautophagy. Next, Dr. Cuervo discusses the relationship between autophagy and aging. She explains how lysosomes become less effective at degrading proteins as we age. This results in less effective autophagy and can lead to the aggregation of waste products that have evaded degradation. However, Dr. Cuervo provides a hopeful vision for the field's future by outlining specific strategies that may hold the key to improving macroautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy in old age. Visit www.sens.org/videos to view the rest of our course lecture videos.