TY - JOUR AU - Tancini, B. AU - Urbanelli, L. AU - Magini, A. AU - Polchi, A. AU - Emiliani, C. PY - 2017/06/15 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Extending lifespan through autophagy stimulation: a future perspective JF - JOURNAL OF GERONTOLOGY AND GERIATRICS JA - Gerontology and Geriatrics VL - 65 IS - 2 SE - Translational Research in Gerontology and Geriatrics - Reviews DO - UR - https://www.jgerontology-geriatrics.com/article/view/149 SP - 110-123 AB - Ageing is a natural process characterized by the gradual decline of physiological functions. In the last decades,human lifespan has considerably increased. Consequently, population ageing and the resulting increase ofpeople affected by age-related diseases, is emerging as a major social and economic challenge in developedcountries. This scenario has led to an exponential growth of research projects in the field of ageing, with theaim of identifying amenable drug targets and pharmacological interventions to extend human healthy lifespan.Extensive evidence in literature suggests that the dysfunction of autophagy, a highly conserved pathwayinvolved in maintaining cellular homeostasis, is part of the ageing process with roles in the pathobiologyof age-related diseases. Moreover, accumulating experimental data from invertebrate and vertebrate animalmodels demonstrate that intervening to increase lifespan also induces autophagy, suggesting that stimulatingsuch cellular process may represent an effective strategy to increase longevity. Here, we reviewed the literatureon autophagy in ageing and age-related diseases, also discussing the perspective of behavioral and pharmacological interventions that may increase healthy lifespan through autophagy stimulation. ER -