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Updated: Jun 29, 2025

In Situ Immunofluorescent Staining of Autophagy in Muscle Stem Cells
Published on: June 12, 2017
Mechanistic insights into fasting-induced autophagy in the aging heart
Hannaneh Parvaresh1, Katarzyna Paczek2, Md Abdul Alim Al-Bari3
1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948974, Iran.
Abstract:
Autophagy is a prosurvival mechanism for the clearance of accumulated abnormal proteins, damaged organelles, and excessive lipids within mammalian cells. A growing body of data indicates that autophagy is reduced in aging cells. This reduction leads to various diseases, such as myocardial hypertrophy, infarction, and atherosclerosis. Recent studies in animal models of an aging heart showed that fasting-induced autophagy improved cardiac function and longevity. This improvement is related to autophagic clearance of damaged cellular components via either bulk or selective autophagy (such as mitophagy). In this editorial, we summarize the mechanisms of autophagy in normal and aging hearts. In addition, the protective effect of fasting-induced autophagy in cardiac aging has been highlighted.
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