Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Dec 1.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Genet. 2008 Nov 5;24(12):604–612. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2008.10.002

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Effects of genetic manipulations on autophagy in cellular aging and longevity. Studies in worms (a) have revealed that macroautophagy is upregulated in different long-lived mutants (life span is indicated by green arrows). Blockage of macroautophagy by siRNA against essential autophagy proteins (Atg) in these mutant worms reduces their life-span extension, supporting the view that functional autophagy is required to attain maximal life extension in these worms. (b) Whether or not macroautophagy blockage by similar procedures reduces normal life span in wild-type worms remains controversial (denoted by?). (c) Macroautophagy upregulation in neurons decreases age-dependent neuronal damage and increases life span in flies. (d) Recently, the prevention of the age-related decline in CMA activity in the liver of a transgenic mouse model improved overall hepatic function.