NIX ‐ing mitochondria: from development to pathology

Abstract

© 2017 EMBO. Hypoxia occurs physiologically in the developing body, and changing oxygen tensions are known to direct tissue differentiation; however, in the context of pathology, the same hypoxia-activated mechanisms may negatively affect tissue function. In this issue of The EMBO Journal, Esteban-Martínez et al (2017) report that programmed mitophagy, dependent on hypoxia-induced NIP-3-like protein X (BNIP3L, best known as NIX), is an essential step in differentiation of both retinal neurons and inflammatory macrophages.