A 70-year-old man begins a time-restricted eating plan. After several hours without food, his insulin and IGF-1 levels fall, while his energy sensor AMPK becomes active. Which cellular process is most likely increased to help his cells repair and recycle damaged parts?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The scenario describes a time-restricted eating pattern in an elderly patient, where fasting leads to lower insulin and IGF-1 and activation of AMPK, an energy-sensing kinase.
Option 1: Protein synthesis. This process is largely promoted by insulin signaling and mTOR activity. In a fasting state with low insulin and active AMPK, mTOR activity is suppressed, which actually reduces protein synthesis rather than increasing it. So this choice does not fit the described metabolic context.
Option 2: Fat storage. In fasting and low insulin conditions, the body shifts toward mobilizing energy stores rather than storing fat. While adipose tissue dynamics are involved in metabolic adaptation, increased fat storage is inconsistent with low insulin and catabolic signaling via AMPK during fasting.
Option 3: Autophagy. Autophagy is a cellular recycling process that is upregulated during energy stress when AMPK is activated and mTOR is inhibited. This leads to degradation and recycling of damaged organelles and proteins, supporting cellular repair during fasting. This aligns well with the described cellular state and helps explain how cells maintain homeostasis under nutrient scarcity.
Option 4: Uncontrolled cell division. This option is incongruent with fasting physiology. Energy limitation and AMPK activation generally suppress proliferative signaling; uncontrolled cell division is not a characteristic response to fasting and would be detrimental under energy-deprived conditions.
In summary, among the given choices, the metabolic cues of fasting—low insulin/IGF-1 and active AMPK—most strongly point toward a boost in autophagy, the cellular cleanup and recycling process activated during energy scarcity to maintain cellular health and function.

A 70-year-old man begins a time-restricted eating plan. After several hours without food, his insulin and IGF-1 levels fall, while his energy sensor AMPK becomes active. Which cellular process is most likely increased to help his cells repair and recycle damaged parts?

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