A review synthesizing recent findings on how PINK1 and parkin regulate mitophagy/autophagy and how defects in these pathways may contribute to Parkinson disease.

By tying familial PD genes to mitophagy dysfunction, the paper reinforces a mechanistic, druggable axis for therapeutic targeting and biomarker development, though as a review its direct experimental or translational novelty is limited.

Parkinson disease (PD) and its variants pose a dramatic burden on patients, families and society. Deciphering the mechanistic underpinnings of PD are critical goals of researchers to develop new therapeutic approaches. Among the pathways affected, autophagy draws increasing attention owing to its relationship to several genes implicated in PD and parkinsonism. This review summarizes novel insight into autophagic and in particular mitophagic processes regulated by parkin and PINK1, and how their deregulation may contribute to or cause the disease.