线粒体自噬在心血管疾病中的作用

自噬对于组成心血管系统细胞(如心肌细胞、内皮细胞和血管平滑肌细胞等)的细胞内稳态和生理功能的维持具有重要作用。线粒体自噬是以损伤的线粒体作为自噬底物的一种选择性自噬。由于线粒体是生物能量的主要来源且心血管系统对能量要求较高,线粒体自噬在心血管稳态的维持中尤为重要。研究证实线粒体自噬在心肌梗死、心力衰竭和动脉粥样硬化等疾病中扮演重要角色。本文概述了线粒体自噬的主要调控通路,并阐述了线粒体自噬与心血管疾病之间的密切联系。

Role of mitophagy in cardiovascular diseases

Autophagy is of great importance for intracellular homeostasis and physiological functions in cells constituting cardiovascular system such as cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells. Mitophagy is one type of selective autophagy which specifically targets and removes disfunctional mitochondria. As energy production is the core function of mitochondria and cardiovascular system is of high energy demand, mitophagy contributes to cardiovascular homeostasis. It has been shown that mitophagy influences disease outcome in several cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, heart failure and atherosclerosis. In this review, we discuss the regulation of mitophagy and intimate connection between mitophagy and cardiovascular diseases.