Mammalian Pexophagy at a Glance

We are excited to share that our lab has published a new review article that provides an up-to-date overview of how peroxisomes are selectively degraded by autophagy.

Peroxisomes are remarkably dynamic organelles with essential functions in fatty acid oxidation, ether lipid synthesis, and redox balance. Their number and activity constantly adapt to metabolic cues and cellular stress. When peroxisomes become damaged or superfluous, they must be efficiently removed, a process known as pexophagy. Although key steps have been elucidated, our understanding of mammalian pexophagy still lags behind what is known from yeast.

In a recent Cell Science at a Glance article, Justyna and Anja summarize the current state of the field, discuss open questions, and highlight how ubiquitin-dependent and -independent mechanisms drive the recognition and clearance of peroxisomes. They also map out the ubiquitin machinery involved in initiating phagophore recruitment to peroxisomes, bringing together insights from recent work across the field.

We hope the accompanying poster will serve as a useful resource for researchers studying organelle quality control, autophagy, and metabolic homeostasis, and perhaps inspire new ideas for exploring the many unanswered questions in peroxisome biology.

https://journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/137/9/jcs259775/347531/Mammalian-pexophagy-at-a-glance