Marinković Mija, Rožić Ana, Polančec Denis, Novak Ivana
Faculty of Science, University of Split, Croatia.
School of Medicine, University of Split, Croatia.
FEBS Open Bio. 2025 Apr;15(4):587-598. doi: 10.1002/2211-5463.13958. Epub 2024 Dec 23.
Mitophagy, a selective clearance of damaged or superfluous mitochondria via autophagy machinery and lysosomal degradation, is an evolutionarily conserved process essential for various physiological functions, including cellular differentiation and immune responses. Defects in mitophagy are implicated in numerous human diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, and metabolic conditions. Despite significant advancements in mitophagy research over recent decades, novel and robust methodologies are necessary to elucidate its molecular mechanisms comprehensively. In this study, we present a detailed protocol for quantitatively assessing mitophagy through flow cytometry using a mitochondria-targeted fluorescent mitophagy receptor, GFP-BNIP3L/NIX. This method offers a rapid alternative to conventional microscopy or immunoblotting techniques for analyzing mitophagy activity. Additionally, this approach can theoretically be adapted to utilize any fluorescent-tagged selective autophagy receptor, enabling the direct and rapid analysis of various types of receptor-mediated selective autophagy.
线粒体自噬是通过自噬机制和溶酶体降解对受损或多余线粒体进行选择性清除的过程,是一种进化上保守的过程,对包括细胞分化和免疫反应在内的各种生理功能至关重要。线粒体自噬缺陷与许多人类疾病有关,如神经退行性疾病、癌症和代谢性疾病。尽管近几十年来线粒体自噬研究取得了重大进展,但仍需要新颖且强大的方法来全面阐明其分子机制。在本研究中,我们展示了一种详细的方案,该方案使用线粒体靶向荧光线粒体自噬受体GFP-BNIP3L/NIX,通过流式细胞术对线粒体自噬进行定量评估。该方法为分析线粒体自噬活性提供了一种快速替代传统显微镜或免疫印迹技术的方法。此外,从理论上讲,这种方法可以适用于利用任何荧光标记的选择性自噬受体,从而能够直接快速地分析各种类型的受体介导的选择性自噬。