The Truth About AMPK

Researchers at Salk and Sanford-Burnham used tiny C. elegans to study AMPK and autophagy.

You may not be familiar with the protein  but if you exercise regularly, like to drink red wine, take certain diabetes medications or practice caloric restriction in hopes of extending your life, AMPK is very important to you. AMPK is a master switch that controls a number of key cellular mechanisms, and all the activities listed above stimulate AMPK signals.
Recently,  at the with assistance from at Sanford-Burnham, published a showing how AMPK triggers a process called  which recycles damaged parts when cells are low on energy. Problems with AMPK and autophagy are associated with type 2 diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and other age-related diseases.