A study of healthy adults found autophagy does not simply decline with age and can vary by cell type and sex. In older people, higher recycling activity was linked with poorer physical function, while gentle exercise may shift it towards younger patterns.
01Summary
- 01Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute published the findings on 27 September 2026 in Aging Cell.
- 02The team studied blood and skin samples from volunteers aged 23 to 72, and also made induced neurons from some skin cells.
- 03Autophagy changed differently in different cells: it fell in skin cells from men, stayed fairly stable in female skin cells, and rose in induced neurons from women.
- 04Among participants aged 70 and over, higher autophagy activity was linked with poorer physical measures, including lower aerobic fitness, higher BMI, weaker grip strength and lower metabolism.
- 05In a 12-week pilot study of five people aged 77 to 88, gentle exercise was associated with lower autophagy activity in blood cells and better physical performance.
02Why it matters
The findings challenge a long-held idea about ageing cells and could affect how scientists measure and target ageing-related processes. They also suggest that exercise may change cellular recycling in older adults.
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