NIX is required for programmed mitochondrial clearance during reticulocyte maturation

The regulated clearance of mitochondria is a well recognized but poorly understood aspect of cellular homeostasis, and defects in this process have been linked to aging, degenerative diseases, and cancer. Mitochondria are recycled through an autophagy-related process, and reticulocytes, which completely eliminate their mitochondria during maturation, provide a physiological model to study this phenomenon. Here, we show that mitochondrial clearance in reticulocytes requires the BCL2-related protein NIX (BNIP3L). Mitochondrial clearance does not require BAX, BAK, BCL-X(L), BIM, or PUMA, indicating that NIX does not function through established proapoptotic pathways. Similarly, NIX is not required for the…

• BW
  Burroughs Wellcome Fund
• PC
  Pew Charitable Trusts
• AS
  American Society of Hematology
• VU
  Vanderbilt University
• SJ
  St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• AL
  American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities
• NI
  National Institutes of Health