Maladaptive autophagy in diabetic heart disease

Abstract

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a distinct phenomenon associated with the development of cardiac dysfunction and loss of cardiovascular cells in the absence of common predisposing factors, such as atherosclerosis and hypertension. However, the exact mechanisms mediating augmented cellular death in DCM remain to be elucidated. Autophagy is a physiological cellular degradation pathway that plays an important role in the cellular homeostasis, which could become maladaptive with stress. The role of this maladaptive autophagy in the evolution of DCM is unknown. This review describes the molecular mechanisms involved in DCM and autophagy. Based on the available evidence, the review discusses the possible key role of autophagy in DCM