The Role of Autophagy in Cardiovascular Disease

As a highly conserved cellular process, autophagy plays a critical role during both cardiac development and pathogenesis. During cardiovascular pathogenesis, autophagy mechanisms are reactivated erroneously to contribute considerably to the evolution of the disease by supporting pathogenic remodeling. Thus, targeting mechanisms of autophagy such as macroautophagy (MA), microautophagy (mA), and chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) can unveil therapeutic potential for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This series aims to highlight the essential role that autophagy plays in normal molecular and cellular physiology and pathology and highlights the importance of hijacking normal autophagy for pathogenesis in cardiovascular disease. Original research papers and review articles will be considered for publication in this series.


Topics to be covered include (but are not limited to):


• Studies focusing on fundamental molecular and cellular mechanism of autophagy in CVD;

• Autophagic defense and remodeling of cells and tissues in in CVD;

• Autophagy mechanisms in inflammation and programmed cell death in in CVD;

• SARS-CoV-2 promoted autophagy and dysregulated catabolic autophagy pathway during heart infection;

• Animal models of autophagy dysregulation in CVD;

• Drug development targeting autophagy, particularly for treating CVD