Dr Viktor Korolchuk, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University
Selective autophagy as a mechanism of oxidative stress response
The talk will summarise several ongoing research projects in the lab, primarily focussing on autophagic degradation of mitochondria by autophagy. We show that this homeostatic process, termed mitophagy, is essential for multiple aspects of cellular physiology. Mechanisms allowing autophagy machinery to detect damaged mitochondria producing elevated levels of reactive oxygen species will be discussed. Likewise, the talk will illustrate some mechanistic links between autophagy dysfunction and the loss of cellular function leading to cell death or senescence. Based on our data, we propose that autophagy, and specifically mitophagy, are promising targets for interventions aiming to prevent age-related dysfunction and diseases associated with ageing.