Consistent with these results, endogenous p62 levels, a ubiquitin-binding scaffold protein that co-localizes with ubiquitinated protein aggregates and is usually degraded during autophagy or mitophagy [24], were significantly reduced in wt MI hearts after one week compared to sham, and further reduced in Akap1-/- MI hearts compared to wt MI (Fig 3C). This evidence concerns the gene AKAP1 and myocardial infarction.