Cardiovascular research
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Cardiovascular research · Apr 2014
Defective autophagosome trafficking contributes to impaired autophagic flux in coronary arterial myocytes lacking CD38 gene.
Autophagic flux is an important process during autophagy maturation in smooth muscle cells. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying autophagic flux in these cells are largely unknown. Here, we revealed a previously undefined role of CD38, an enzyme that metabolizes NADP(+) into NAADP, in the regulation of autophagic flux in coronary arterial myocytes (CAMs). ⋯ Taken together, these results suggest that CD38 plays a critical role in autophagosome trafficking and fusion with lysosomes, thus controlling autophagic flux in CAMs under atherogenic stimulation.