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Aging and Autophagy in the Heart
Akihiro Shirakabe1, Yoshiyuki Ikeda1, Sebastiano Sciarretta1
1From the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, Newark (A.S., Y.I., S.S., D.K.Z., J.S.); Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and Hypertension, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Science, Kagoshima University, Japan (Y.I.); Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy (S.S.); and Department of AngioCardioNeurology, IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy (S.S.).
Circulation Research
|May 14, 2016
Summary
Autophagy, a cellular cleaning process, declines with heart aging, worsening cardiac dysfunction. Restoring autophagy can combat age-related heart problems and improve heart health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Molecular Biology
- Gerontology
Background:
- The global population is aging, leading to increased cardiac disease incidence.
- Cardiac aging involves hypertrophy, fibrosis, and accumulation of damaged proteins and mitochondria.
- Macroautophagy (autophagy) is crucial for cellular quality control, degrading waste proteins and organelles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of autophagy in cardiac aging.
- To discuss how autophagy mitigates age-dependent cardiac pathology.
- To explore strategies for restoring autophagy in aging hearts.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on autophagy and cardiac aging.
- Analysis of data from murine models of autophagy loss-of-function and stimulation.
- Examination of autophagy's role in lifespan-extending mechanisms like caloric restriction.
Main Results:
- Autophagy levels and flux decrease in aging hearts.
- Impaired autophagy leads to cardiac dysfunction, protein aggregation, and organelle damage in mice.
- Stimulating autophagy improves cardiac function in models of protein aggregation by clearing cellular damage.
Conclusions:
- Autophagy is vital for maintaining cardiac health during aging.
- Reduced autophagy exacerbates age-related heart disease.
- Enhancing autophagy presents a promising therapeutic strategy for aging hearts.
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