Recent progress in research on molecular mechanisms of autophagy in the heart.
Dysregulation of autophagy, an evolutionarily conserved process for degradation of long-lived proteins and organelles, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of human disease. Recent research has uncovered pathways that control autophagy in the heart and molecular mechanisms by which alterations in this process affect cardiac structure and function. Although initially thought to be a nonselective degradation process, autophagy, as it has become increasingly clear, can exhibit specificity in the degradation of molecules and organelles, such as mitochondria. Furthermore, it has been shown that autophagy is involved in a wide variety of previously unrecognized cellular functions, such as cell death and metabolism. A growing body of evidence suggests that deviation from appropriate levels of autophagy causes cellular dysfunction and death, which in turn leads to heart disease. Here, we review recent advances in understanding the role of autophagy in heart disease, highlight unsolved issues, and discuss the therapeutic potential of modulating autophagy in heart disease.
Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey; Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; and.
Yasuhiro
Y
Maejima
Departments of Medicine and Cell Biology, Wilf Family Cardiovascular Research Institute, Diabetes Research Center, Albert Einstein Cancer Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York;
Yun
Y
Chen
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; and.
Mitsuaki
M
Isobe
Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.
Åsa B
ÅB
Gustafsson
Departments of Medicine and Cell Biology, Wilf Family Cardiovascular Research Institute, Diabetes Research Center, Albert Einstein Cancer Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York;
Richard N
RN
Kitsis
Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey; sadoshju@njms.rutgers.edu.
Junichi
J
Sadoshima
D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D063306:Mitophagy; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*
autophagy; autosis; mitophagy; protein quality control