Selective Mitochondrial Autophagy, or Mitophagy, as a Targeted Defense Against Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, and Aging

Interestingness: 6

By Dr. John J. Lemasters. Rejuvenation Research. Spring 2005, 8(1): 3-5. doi:10.1089/rej.2005.8.3.

Short speculative piece about the importance of a mitochondrial outer membrane protein, Uth1p, in aging. Yeast cells with mutant versions of the gene have lower levels of mitochondrial autophagy when induced by rapamycin and starvation. If this means that the particular mitochondria that don't express Uth1p are not recycled, then it would give an "evolutionary" advantage for mitochondria to have mutant versions of this gene, as long as they are picked as often as others for mitochondrial replication. If this is the case, then other mutations in the same mitochondrion as ones with Uth1p mutations would proliferate throughout the cell.

As a downer, it seems there isn't (wasn't?) much information about the human analogue/s of the gene.