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World J Cardiol. Sep 26, 2012; 4(9): 271-274
Published online Sep 26, 2012. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v4.i9.271
Published online Sep 26, 2012. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v4.i9.271
Coronary atherosclerosis: Significance of autophagic armour
Mansi Arora, Deepak Kaul, Department of Experimental Medicine and Biotechnology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India
Author contributions: Arora M collected the material and wrote the commentary; Kaul D supervised the writing of the article and mentored Arora M.
Correspondence to: Deepak Kaul, PhD, FRCPath (Lond), FNA, FWAAS, Professor, Department of Experimental Medicine and Biotechnology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India. dkaul_24@hotmail.com
Telephone: +91-172-2755233 Fax: +91-172-2744401
Received: July 18, 2012
Revised: August 21, 2012
Accepted: August 28, 2012
Published online: September 26, 2012
Revised: August 21, 2012
Accepted: August 28, 2012
Published online: September 26, 2012
Abstract
Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation pathway of cellular components such as organelles and long-lived proteins. Though a protective role for autophagy has been established in various patho-physiologic conditions such as cancer, neurodegeneration, aging and heart failure, a growing body of evidence now reveals a protective role for autophagy in atherosclerosis, mainly by removing oxidatively damaged organelles and proteins and also by promoting cholesterol egress from the lipid-laden cells. Recent studies by Razani et al and Liao et al unravel novel pathways that might be involved in autophagic protection and in this commentary we highlight the importance of autophagy in atherosclerosis in the light of these two recent papers.
Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Autophagy; Inflammasome; Reactive oxygen species; Apoptosis; Efferocytosis