What is mitophagy in cell biology?

Mitophagy, a form of autophagy, is the cell’s way of removing damaged mitochondria, which are organelles that produce ATP and regulate cellular energy homeostasis. In the process of mitophagy, damaged mitochondria are primed for selective recognition and engulfed by autophagosomes, then degraded by lysosomes. Mitophagy is important for ensuring proper cellular function. Mutations in key mitophagy proteins, like PINK1 and Parkin, are seen to occur in some forms of Parkinson’s disease. Mitophagy can be identified by using immunoblotting (Western blotting) or immunostaining to detect loss of expression by mitochondrial proteins or loss of mitochondrial DNA.