Date

April 8, 2025

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Nature

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Autophagy does not always decline with ageing

Autophagy has long been presumed to decline with age, underpinning its designation as a hallmark of ageing. However, emerging evidence challenges this notion, showing tissue-specific variability and, in some cases, age-related increases in autophagic activity. Understanding these dynamics is vital for targeted therapeutic strategies.

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Acknowledgements

J.M.C. is supported by an EMCR Fellowship from The Hospital Research Foundation Group (2022-CF-EMCR -007).

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Sanjna Singh, Julian M. Carosi.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lysosomal Health in Ageing, Lifelong Health Theme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Sanjna Singh, Julian M. Carosi, Linh Dang & Timothy J. Sargeant

  2. Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Sanjna Singh & Timothy J. Sargeant

  3. School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Julian M. Carosi

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Timothy J. Sargeant.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

T.J.S. is listed as an inventor on a patent and patent applications related to content discussed in this manuscript (UK GB2603664B; USA US20220276262A1; Australia AU2020337182A1). The other authors declare no competing interests.

Peer review

Peer review information

Nature Cell Biology thanks Viktor Korolchuk, Terje Johansen, and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Cite this article

Singh, S., Carosi, J.M., Dang, L. et al. Autophagy does not always decline with ageing. Nat Cell Biol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-025-01654-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-025-01654-5