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REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Neuropharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1564276
The Role and Therapeutic Potential of Mitophagy in Major Depressive Disorder
Provisionally accepted- 1 Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
- 2 China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
Major depressive disorder, also known as MDD, affects more than 264 million people globally, making it a prevalent and critical health challenge. Traditional treatments show limited efficacy in many patients. Therefore, exploring new treatment methods is particularly crucial.Mitophagy, as a regulatory process, can help understand and treat MDD. This paper focuses on the molecular mechanisms of mitophagy, starting from proteins and related pathways, and its role in MDD. The study also explores the associations between mitophagy and neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, neurotransmitter synthesis, and neuroplasticity in MDD and discusses the progress of clinical research on the role of mitophagy in MDD. In addition, the article describes the current pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions that can regulate mitophagy in MDD and unravels the potential and challenges of these therapeutic strategies in clinical settings. This article offers a deeper insight into the pathogenesis of MDD and offers a scientific basis for the development of new treatment strategies.
Keywords: Major Depressive Disorder, mitophagy, mitophagy-related proteins, mitophagyrelated pathways, Therapeutic potential
Received: 21 Jan 2025; Accepted: 05 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Shi, Liu, Li, Yao, Zhong and Jiang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Youming Jiang, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.