Autophagy and myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury

Autophagy is a lysosome-dependent degradative pathway which is characterized by cytoplasmic vacuolization. However, it is not just a simple degradative pathway. Research shows that autophagy is related to many diseases, such as neurodegenerative disease, malignant tumor, ageing, pathogenic microorganism infection, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and so on. Autophagy exactly exists in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, and it becomes a new research hotspot. This review will focus on the occurrence and development of autophagy and its role, signal transduction and research status in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury.