Autophagy is fundamental to maintain cellular homeostasis. As one kind of the most well-studied selective autophagy, autophagy of mitochondria (mitophagy)is crucial for the clearance of damaged mitochondria. Mitophagy dysfunction has been proved to be closely associated with many human diseases. Nix is a key protein for mitophagy during the maturation of reticulocytes. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms underlying Nix-mediated mitophagy are not fully understood. This article summarizes three possible working models of Nix in mitophagy induction. Firstly, Nix can interplay with Parkin, another important protein for mitophagy, to initiate mitophagy. Secondly, Nix can serve as a receptor for autophagy machinery by interacting with Atg8 family through its LIR motif. Finally, as a BH3-only protein, Nix can compete with Beclin-1 to bind other members of Bcl-2 family resulting in increased free Beclin-1 in cytosol, which further promotes autophagy flux.
Autophagy ; genetics ; physiology ; Autophagy-Related Protein 8 Family ; physiology ; Beclin-1 ; physiology ; Membrane Proteins ; physiology ; Mitochondria ; genetics ; physiology ; Mitochondrial Degradation ; genetics ; physiology ; Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; physiology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; physiology ; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases ; physiology