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Updated: Apr 19, 2026

In Situ Immunofluorescent Staining of Autophagy in Muscle Stem Cells
Published on: June 12, 2017
This old heart: Cardiac aging and autophagy
Phyllis-Jean Linton1, Michael Gurney1, David Sengstock2
1Donald P. Shiley BioScience Center, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Autophagy, a cellular housekeeping process, is essential to maintain tissue homeostasis, particularly in long-lived cells such as cardiomyocytes. Autophagic activity declines with age and may explain many features of age-related cardiac dysfunction. In this review we summarize the current state of knowledge regarding age-related changes in autophagy in the heart. Recent findings from studies in human hearts are presented, including evidence that the autophagic response is intact in the aged human heart. Impaired autophagic clearance of protein aggregates or deteriorating mitochondria will have multiple consequences including increased arrhythmia risk, decreased contractile function, reduced tolerance to ischemic stress, and increased inflammation; thus autophagy represents a potentially important therapeutic target to mitigate the cardiac consequences of aging. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled CV Aging.
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