Dr. Guido Kroemer is a professor at the University of Paris Descartes and an expert in immunology, cancer biology, aging, and autophagy. He is one of the most highly cited authors in the field of cell biology and was the most highly cited cell biologist for the period between 2007 and 2013. Especially notable among his contributions: he was the first to discover that the permeabilization of mitochondrial membranes is a concrete step towards apoptotic cell death.

This episode is decidedly focused on autophagy, an important cellular program that is inducible by dietary fasting and has broad implications for aging and cancer. Autophagy discussion includes:

• How the 3 main signals that activate autophagy all involve nutrient sensing (00:09:09).
• The role of different types of fasting and nutrient deprivation in autophagy (00:20:55).
• How different types of exercise can induce autophagy (00:24:35).
• How a specific type of autophagy called mitophagy keeps mitochondria healthy (00:36:29).
• How autophagy has been shown to slow cellular aging (00:33:07).
• How autophagy prevents neurodegenerative diseases by clearing away protein aggregates (00:39:38).
• The role of autophagy in cancer as a possible double-edged sword (00:48:29).
• How certain compounds known as caloric restriction mimetics (or fasting mimetics) including resveratrol, spermidine, hydroxycitrate can induce autophagy by tricking the cell through the modulation of one or more of the 3 main autophagy signaling pathways (00:54:52).

Visit Dr. Guido Kroemer's website.

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