Role of mitophagy in cardiovascular diseases

Autophagy is of great importance for intracellular homeostasis and physiological functions in cells constituting cardiovascular system such as cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells. Mitophagy is one type of selective autophagy which specifically targets and removes disfunctional mitochondria. As energy production is the core function of mitochondria and cardiovascular system is of high energy demand, mitophagy contributes to cardiovascular homeostasis. It has been shown that mitophagy influences disease outcome in several cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, heart failure and atherosclerosis. In this review, we discuss the regulation of mitophagy and intimate connection between mitophagy and cardiovascular diseases.