Aysun İNAN GENÇ, Ruken CEYLANİ
Anatolian Current Medical Journal - 2026;8(6):1193-1198
Aims: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a 35-day intermittent fasting (IF) regimen on the transcriptional and protein expression profiles of key autophagy-related markers in the liver of aged male Wistar rats. Methods: Twelve-month-old male Wistar rats were assigned to either an IF group or a control group. The IF group was subjected to an 18:6 h time-restricted feeding protocol for 35 days, whereas control animals had ad libitum access to food and water. Hepatic mRNA expression levels of ATG5, ATG7, Beclin1, LC3, and p62 were quantified by quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, the protein expression of these autophagy-related markers was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Results: IF significantly increased the hepatic mRNA expression of ATG5, ATG7, Beclin1, and LC3 (p<0.0001 for all), while p62/SQSTM1 expression showed a more modest but significant increase (p=0.0384). Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated significantly stronger immunoreactivity for ATG5, ATG7, Beclin1, and LC3-II, whereas p62 immunoreactivity was significantly reduced in the IF group (p<0.0001). The combined transcriptional and immunohistochemical findings indicate that IF modulates multiple molecular components associated with the autophagy pathway in the aged liver. Conclusion: These findings provide complementary molecular evidence that IF modulates autophagy-associated pathways and may contribute to the maintenance of hepatic cellular homeostasis during aging. Further studies evaluating autophagic flux and additional functional markers are required to clarify the biological significance of these changes.
