Beyond Mitophagy: The Diversity and Complexity of Parkin Function

Parkin is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that mediates mitochondrial autophagy, or mitophagy, in multiple cell types. While discovered in the context of Parkinson’s disease, Parkin is also an important regulator of mitophagy in the heart. In addition, while most current work is focused on the role of Parkin in mitophagy, accumulating evidence suggests that Parkin also impacts cellular physiology and function through additional processes. This Viewpoint discusses current controversies regarding the functional role of Parkin-mediated mitophagy and emerging evidence that Parkin regulates several additional pathways.