Cellular housecleaning key to beneficial effects of exercise
A recent paper published in Nature proposes a critical role for autophagy in the beneficial effects of exercise. The article shows that exercise (treadmill running) in mice stimulates the process of autophagy. Interestingly, the induction of autophagy is required for some of the positive metabolic effects of exercise (increased sensitivity to insulin, etc.). Mice with mutations in the autophagy pathway show impaired exercise endurance and do not receive any of the metabolic benefits of exercise.
Autophagy is a critical function for cells. Not only is it an efficient mechanism for clearing debris, but it also facilitates the dynamic regulation of cellular activity. Cells use autophagy to allocate resources toward critical activities at times when these resources are scarce. Additionally, autophagy, through mechanisms that are not entirely clear, is thought to be involved in the pathology of many diseases from cancer to neurodegeneration.
This paper gives us some insight into why exercise is appears to help prevent many seemingly disparate diseases.
