自噬在动脉粥样硬化进展中的作用

therosclerosis (AS) is still the leading cause for cardiovascular disease global morbidity and mortality, such as it is a key cause of cardiopathy, myocardial infarction and peripheral vascular diseases. It does great harm to human health. Macrophages play a crucial role in atherosclerotic plaque stabilization and rupture. In this case, the selectivity of macrophage removal may be beneficial to the stability of the plaques. Autophagy is a catabolic recycling pathway that is triggered by various intracellular or extracellular stimuli and then during autophagy, diverse cytosolic constituents are enveloped by double-membrane vesicles, autophagosomes, which later fuse with lysosomes or the vacuole to degrade their cargo. Because autophagy has the function of maintaining cell homeostasis and promoting cell survival，and therefore imbalance in autophagy is related closely to a diverse range of pathologies including cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of death in the world.