Molecular signaling toward mitophagy and its physiological significance

Mitochondrial autophagy or mitophagy is a cellular metabolic pathway that mediates the selective elimination of dysfunctional or unwanted mitochondria. Considerable advancements have been made to elucidate the molecular mechanism behind mitophagy, particularly Parkin-mediated mitophagy. Several mitophagy receptors have been discovered in different physiological settings, including ATG32 in yeast as well as NIX, BNIP3, and FUNDC1 in mammalian cells. However, the signaling events that regulate these mitophagy receptors and their physiological significance in human diseases are poorly understood. In this paper, we review recent advancements in mitophagy at the cellular and molecular levels. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.