Mitophagy and neurodegenerative disease

Mitochondrial dysfunction is considered as one of the hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases. Mitophagy, an efficient pathway to eliminate impaired or dysfunctional mitochondria, plays a crucial role in maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis and quantity. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that impaired and dysfunctional mitophagy are associated with many neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore the regulation of mitophagy might be considered as a useful therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we summarize the characteristics and functional roles of mitophagy in neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on potential therapeutic intervention based on mitophagy.