Sex steroid hormones regulate autophagy during myocardial infarction in rats, a research team from Australia shows. Moreover, ex vivo experiments reveal a novel mechanism of action for androgens during ischaemia–reperfusion through downregulation of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-XL, a key controller of the crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis. This action shifts the balance towards apoptosis, leading to aggravated cardiac damage in both male and female rats.
References
Le, T. Y. et al. Role of androgens in sex differences in cardiac damage during myocardial infarction. Endocrinology 10.1210/en.2013-1755
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Androgens, autophagy and apoptosis. Nat Rev Endocrinol 10, 128 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2013.268
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2013.268