Find out how autophagy, mitophagy, heteroplasmy, cellular senescence, zombie cells, oxidative stress, electrons, light, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s disease are all connected – and how we can fix it.
Autophagy is a cellular process that helps maintain cellular homeostasis by degrading and recycling damaged proteins and organelles. Impaired autophagy has been linked to aging and reduced longevity, partly due to its effects on collagen turnover and ECM homeostasis.
Mitophagy is the process by which a damaged mitochondria recognizes that it is damaged and undergoes a process of self-destruction.
Heteroplasmy describes the situation in which two or more mitochondrial DNA variants exist within the same cell. Heteroplasmy is often caused by new mutations occurring either in the stem cells or tissue cells. In fact, heteroplasmy levels often vary even between cell types of the same individual, leading to situations where only specific cells, tissues, or organs are affected by mitochondrial dysfunction. The accumulation of these mutations in cells that undergo mitosis, over time, may be a central factor in aging.
The signaling of cell death and mitophagy = % heteroplasmy in mitochondria = the amount of light energy transformed to physiologic power.
Ketogenic diets and Intermittent Fasting increase free fatty acids, an effect associated with activation of mitochondrial biogenesis, mitophagy, and consequential improvements in mitochondrial function in multiple tissues and cell types.
Review 8A Human Optimization – Mitochondria Heteroplasmy and Redox Potential (only for my Patreon members – www.patreon.com/drmarcusettinger – $12/mo)
What is cellular senescence? Senescent cells are unique in that they eventually stop multiplying but don’t die off when they should. These are also called “zombie cells”.
Senescent cells in elderly are not able to maintain neither physiological tissue functions nor tissue repair, including autophagy, whose capacity declines with aging. If the elimination of senescent cells does not occur, senescent cells accumulate and can lead to cancer, aging and many other chronic diseases.
Senescence can be triggered by oxidative stress, DNA damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, chromatin disruption, inflammation, and epigenetic dysregulation.
Redox Potential is your ability, at a molecular level, to easily and efficiently acquire electrons (think anti-oxidants like vitamin C donating electrons) when needed, as well as you having the resiliency to not oxidize; lose electrons, which make molecules unstable.
Electrons allow you to absorb more light. We operate proportional to our light habits, good and bad. Grounding while observing the sunrise is an amazing way to increase your redox potential.
References:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/59633402
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-10-link-chronic-stress-alzheimer-disease.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1003348
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08-comprehensive-case-oral-gut-axis.html
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