Autophagy and cardiovascular diseases

Autophagy is a highly conserved cell degradation process which can decompose the organelles and recycling the macromolecules by lysosomes. Autophagy is induced by multiple factors, such as starvation, ischemia, and oxidative stress, and plays a key role in development and differentiation of cells. It has been shown that autophagy is closely related to cardiovascular diseases. Moderate autophagy protects myocardial cells from injury, whereas insufficient or excessive autophagy triggers or aggravates diseases. The present article reviews the progress of autophagy in cardiovascular diseases.