Molecular regulation of autophagy and apoptosis during ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy.

A significant understanding of the genetic signaling pathways governing the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways has been established. In recent years, the role of apoptosis in the heart during ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathies has been under investigation and reported to contribute to ventricular remodeling and heart failure. Autophagy has been recently characterized as an essential cellular process in the heart, but whether autophagy functions as a pro-death or pro-survival program during disease conditions is still not completely understood. The mitochondrial death protein Bnip3 has been implicated in both apoptosis and autophagy, and its role in both processes is also discussed.