2025, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (8): 1676-1683

Mitophagy regulates bone metabolism

Zhu Hanmin1, Wang Song2, Xiao Wenlin3, Zhang Wenjing2, Zhou Xi2, He Ye2, Li Wei1, 2     

Abstract: BACKGROUND: In recent years, numerous studies have shown that autophagy and mitophagy play an important role in the regulation of bone metabolism. Under non-physiological conditions, mitophagy breaks the balance of bone metabolism and triggers metabolism disorders, which affect osteoblasts, osteoclasts, osteocytes, chondrocytes, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, etc.
OBJECTIVE: To summarize the mechanism of mitophagy in regulating bone metabolic diseases and its application in clinical treatment.
METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang and VIP databases were searched by computer using the keywords of “mitophagy, bone metabolism, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, osteocytes, chondrocytes, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells” in English and Chinese. The search time was from 2008 to 2023. According to the inclusion criteria, 90 articles were finally included for review and analysis.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Mitophagy promotes the generation of osteoblasts through SIRT1, PINK1/Parkin, FOXO3 and PI3K signaling pathways, while inhibiting osteoclast function through PINK1/Parkin and SIRT1 signaling pathways. Mitophagy leads to bone loss by increasing calcium phosphate particles and tissue protein kinase K in bone tissue. Mitophagy improves the function of chondrocytes through PINK1/Parkin, PI3K/AKT/mTOR and AMPK signaling pathways. Modulation of mitophagy shows great potential in the treatment of bone diseases, but there are still some issues to be further explored, such as different stages of drug-activated mitophagy, and the regulatory mechanisms of different signaling pathways.
Key words: mitochondrial autophagy, bone metabolism, osteoblast, osteoclast, osteocyte