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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Activating Autophagy by Aerobic Exercise in Mice
Published on: February 3, 2017
Keeping the autophagy tempo
Nunzia Pastore1,2, Andrea Ballabio1,2,3,4
1Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children Hospital , Houston , TX , USA.
Abstract:
Most essential physiological functions in mammals show a 24-h rhythmic pattern, which includes sleep-wake, feeding-non-feeding cycles and energy metabolism. Recent studies indicate that macroautophagy/autophagy also displays a robust circadian rhythmicity following the daily feeding pattern in adult mammals. We discovered that MiT-TFE transcription factors TFEB and TFE3, master regulators of autophagy and lysosomal biogenesis, are activated in a circadian manner and drive the expression of NR1D1/REV-ERBα, a key component of the core clockwork, thus revealing a molecular link between the nutrient-driven circadian cycle and the light-induced molecular clock. The dynamic balance between TFEB and TFE3 activation and NR1D1 expression is responsible for the modulation and oscillation of autophagy and metabolism genes.
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