Physiological role of autophagy in protein homeostasis

Autophagy has an accepted role in ageing and age-related diseases yet its contribution is still not fully understood. We want to explore the possibility that ageing cells with decreased autophagy will suffer from the accumulation of misassembled macromolecular intermediates. These may then become toxic by further impairing the assembly of new complexes over time. We will employ an integrative approach using a diverse set of techniques to transfer our knowledge gained in yeast to higher eucaryotes with a focus on model systems for ageing and age-related diseases.