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Updated: May 19, 2026

Visualizing Mitophagy with Fluorescent Dyes for Mitochondria and Lysosome
Published on: November 30, 2022
Mitophagy: mechanisms, pathophysiological roles, and analysis
1Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA. wxding@kumc.edu
Abstract:
Abstract Mitochondria are essential organelles that regulate cellular energy homeostasis and cell death. The removal of damaged mitochondria through autophagy, a process called mitophagy, is thus critical for maintaining proper cellular functions. Indeed, mitophagy has been recently proposed to play critical roles in terminal differentiation of red blood cells, paternal mitochondrial degradation, neurodegenerative diseases, and ischemia or drug-induced tissue injury. Removal of damaged mitochondria through autophagy requires two steps: induction of general autophagy and priming of damaged mitochondria for selective autophagic recognition. Recent progress in mitophagy studies reveals that mitochondrial priming is mediated either by the Pink1-Parkin signaling pathway or the mitophagic receptors Nix and Bnip3. In this review, we summarize our current knowledge on the mechanisms of mitophagy. We also discuss the pathophysiological roles of mitophagy and current assays used to monitor mitophagy.
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