Mitophagy is a selective form of macro-autophagy in which mitochondria are selectively targeted for degradation in autophagolysosomes. Mitophagy can have the beneficial effect of eliminating old and/or damaged mitochondria, thus maintaining the integrity of the mitochondrial pool. However, mitophagy is not only limited to the turnover of dysfunctional mitochondria but also promotes reduction of overall mitochondrial mass in response to certain stresses, such as hypoxia and nutrient starvation. This prevents generation of reactive oxygen species and conserves valuable nutrients (such as oxygen) from being consumed inefficiently, thereby promoting cellular survival under conditions of energetic stress. The failure to properly modulate mitochondrial turnover in response to oncogenic stresses has been implicated both positively and negatively in tumorigenesis, while the potential of targeting mitophagy specifically as opposed to autophagy in general as a therapeutic strategy remains to be explored. The challenges and opportunities that come with our heightened understanding of the role of mitophagy in cancer are reviewed here.

中文翻译：

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线粒体自噬与癌症

线粒体自噬是一种选择性形式的巨自噬，其中线粒体被选择性靶向以在自噬溶酶体中降解。线粒体自噬可以消除旧的和/或受损的线粒体，从而保持线粒体池的完整性。然而，线粒体自噬不仅限于功能失调的线粒体的更新，而且还促进整体线粒体质量的减少以响应某些压力，例如缺氧和营养饥饿。这可以防止活性氧的产生并保护有价值的营养物质（如氧气）不被低效消耗，从而促进细胞在能量压力条件下的存活。未能正确调节线粒体更新以响应致癌应激与肿瘤发生有积极和消极的关系，而特异性靶向线粒体自噬作为治疗策略的潜力仍有待探索。本文将总结随着我们对线粒体自噬在癌症中的作用的深入理解而带来的挑战和机遇。