Mitophagy, a process of selective elimination of mitochondria by autophagy, is a mechanism of mitochondrial quality control that maintains mitochondrial network functionality. The elimination of damaged mitochondria through autophagy requires two steps: induction of general autophagy and priming of damaged mitochondria for selective autophagic recognition. Mitophagy impairment is linked to various pathologies; thus, removal of malfunctioning or even harmful mitochondria is vital to cellular physiology. Here, we describe methods that can be applied to the investigation of mitophagy.
Keywords: Autophagy; Confocal microscopy; Flow cytometry; Mitochondria; Mitophagy; Respiration.
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