Nature's mechanism for extending lifespan through the self-help "recycling system" of cells

"Lysosomal damage is a marker of aging and many diseases, particularly neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's," said lead author Jay Xiaojun Tan, Ph.

As a recycling system for cells, lysosomals contain powerful digestive enzymes that degrade molecular waste

First, Tan experimentally destroyed lysosomes in lab-cultured cells and then measured the proteins

"PtdIns4P is like a red flag

Tan explains that ORP proteins work like tethers

"The endoplasmic reticulum wraps lysosomes like a blanket," Finkel added

With this binding, cholesterol and a lipid called phosphatidylserine are transported to the lysosomes, helping to patch holes in membrane fences

Phosphatidylserine also activates a protein called ATG2, which acts as a bridge to transfer other lipids to lysosomes, the last membrane repair step

"The beauty of this system is that all the components of the PITT pathway are known to be present, but they interact in this sequence or are not aware

The researchers speculate that in healthy people, small cracks in the membrane of lysosomal bodies are rapidly repaired

When they deleted the gene for the first enzyme IN THE coding pathway, PI4K2A, he found a sharp increase in tau fibryel diffusion, suggesting that defects in the PITT pathway could lead to the progression

Jay Xiaojun Tan, Toren Finkel.