Researchers have identified a new drug-like molecule that keeps mitochondria healthy via mitophagy, a process that removes and recycles damaged mitochondria in multicellular organisms.

Autophagy is a process used by cells as a recycling system to transport and break down organelles and other cytosolic components, which become enveloped in a membrane called the autophagosome (Fig 1).

“Because PINK1 and Parkin are critical contributors to the molecular basis of Parkinson’s disease, understanding the mechanistic details related to the mitophagy process mediated by these ...

Findings suggest that mitochondrial fragmentation can bypass defects in mitophagy, the process by which cells remove damaged mitochondria, to sustain skeletal muscle quality control in patients ...

At least five genes implicated in PD are linked to impaired mitophagy, either directly or indirectly, and so the authors sought compounds that could enhance the mitophagy process.

In a person with Parkinson’s and a PINK1 mutation, the mitophagy process no longer functions correctly and toxins accumulate in the cell, eventually killing it. Brain cells need a lot of energy ...

Chamoli highlighted the direct links between mitophagy and aging, suggesting that drugs enhancing this process could offer treatment well beyond neurodegeneration or muscle wasting.