Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948974, Iran
  • 2 Department of Chiropractic, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Pharmacy, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh
  • 4 Department of Anatomy, Division of Human Biology, School of Medicine, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia. nabilsaleheid@imu.edu.my
World J Cardiol, 2024 Mar 26;16(3):109-117.
PMID: 38576517 DOI: 10.4330/wjc.v16.i3.109

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.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.