Methods in studying mitophagy

Mitophagy, the selective removal of dysfunctional mitochondria by autophagy, is an important mitochondrial quality control and function stabilizing mechanism which has been implicated in many diferent physiological and pathological processes. The research on mitophagy was begun in the beginning of this century with rapid development. However, numerous methods in mitophagy research have some shortcomings and there are still no efective or standard methods for monitoring or assessing mitophagy. This review aims to show those current techniques and methods with their advantages and disadvantages in the study of mitophagy.