Mitophagy interacts with mitochondrial dynamics and biogenesis, acting as a double-edged sword in digestive cancer

Mitophagy is a selective autophagy that degrades dysfunctional mitochondria to maintain cellular homeostasis. Mitophagy is functionally coordinated with and regulated by mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial dynamics, which include mitochondrial fusion, mitochondrial fission, and mitochondrial trafficking. Furthermore, researches have demonstrated that mitophagy plays a critical role in the occurrence and development of digestive cancer. Nonetheless, the mechanism of how mitophagy modulates digestive cancer and the mechanism of how mitochondrial biogenesis and dynamics influence mitophagy warrant more investigations. This review summarizes the current understanding of the regulatory mechanism of mitophagy and outlines recent advances from investigations that explore how mitochondrial biogenesis and dynamics coordinate with mitophagy. Additionally, this review provides a comprehensive view about how mitophagy could regulate the occurrence and development of digestive cancer. A deeper understanding about the role of mitophagy in regulation of digestive cancer benefits the development of more efficient therapeutic strategies for patients.