A recent (well, January) study of the enzyme AMPK concluded that AMPK is not only responsible for regulating cell energy, but it also regulates autophagic enzymes.
Autophagy is when enzymes within the cell digest other parts of the cell. So, why would the cell want to do this? Autophagy happens when the cell is under pressure of dying and needs nutrients to survive. The autophagous enzymes will find components within the cell that can be degraded and digested to help the cell survive longer. These enzymes are also responsible for clearing out dead components of the cell to make room for the replacement components.
What autophagic enzymes does AMPK regulate, you ask? There is a class of kinase called "Vps34" that has certain complexes controlled by AMPK. These specific complexes are what carries out autophagy in the cell.
What happens to cells that do not carry out autophagy? Possible cell damage can happen, along with disease, cancer, and aging quicker.
Here's the link in Science Daily:
How cells know when it's time to eat themselves
Hmm, interesting. This process is essentially the same as when you are fasting: your body needs more energy, so it gathers some of the stored energy in your fat tissue and breaks it down until there is no more to break down. This is also why starving people are very skinny.
ReplyDeleteVery true. It all goes back to getting energy by alternate means.
DeleteAH man John...That is the same thing I was going to say. The whole time I was reading, I was ready to talk about how these cells seem to act in the same manner of the human body. I do not want to repeat what John has already introduced, so I will leave it at that. I do have one question though, where does this all take place? The picture in the article illustrates a mammalian cell; so does this mean it is because of the AMPK enzyme, why our bodies technically feeds on itself to survive?
ReplyDeleteI believe all Eukaryotes have this... Not entirely sure though.
DeleteAnd yes, AMPK is why our bodies feed on themselves or break down cells.
haha sorry about that
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