Figure 3

The Goldilocks rule of autophagy in heart disease. Autophagy is a dynamic process. The relationship between autophagy and heart disease is complex. Although basal autophagy is critical to maintain cellular and whole-body homeostasis, both increases and decreases in autophagy to excessive degree can be maladaptive. In CH, HF, and I/R, autophagic flux is abnormally elevated, contributing to cardiac dysfunction. With aging, Pompe disease, and Danon disease, autophagic activity and processing are attenuated, perturbing cellular homeostasis and contributing to cardiac disease. Animal models have been studied extensively to evaluate the role of autophagy in heart disease with either increases (Beclin 1 tg) or decreases (Atg5 KO, Beclin 1 het) in autophagic activity