Image by Sarah Pfau
Scientists have identified previously undiscovered proteins related to autophagy and created a database containing them.
The team believes this database will enable the scientific community to find ways to activate autophagy inside human cells.
And it could aid the development of drugs to treat age-related conditions such as cancer.
The team described the creation of the database in the journal Autophagy.
The database is available here: https://ilir.warwick.ac.uk/.
“Our novel database resource will open a lot of new avenues in basic and translational science,” said Ioannis Nezis, PhD, of the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK.
“Identifying novel selective autophagy-related proteins will help for the development of novel pharmaceutical drug targets for a large variety of diseases like cancer, neurodegeneration, and other aging-related diseases, infections, diabetes, obesity, and Crohn’s disease.”
“Importantly, understanding the molecular mechanisms of selective autophagy will help researchers to find interventions to activate the autophagic pathway to prevent aging and promote healthy well-being during the life course.”
