Researchers focused on mitophagy to understand how mifepristone and rapamycin might extend lifespan.
Mitophagy is like a cellular “cleanup” process in which damaged or dysfunctional mitochondria — the cell’s energy producers — are broken down and recycled. Impaired mitophagy has been linked to aging and age-related diseases, while increased mitophagy is believed to be a factor in rapamycin’s life-extending effects.