Mitophagy is a crucial quality control process that preserves metabolic efficiency by selectively targeting damaged mitochondria for removal. Given the high metabolic demand of pancreatic β cells’ insulin secretion, disruption of mitophagy contributes to the mitochondrial dysfunction and β cell failure that are a common feature of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes (T1D and T2D). We review the impact of mitophagy on β cell responses to (patho)physiologic stressors that underlie the development of T1D and T2D. We examine how β cells engage mitophagy in the adaptive response to metabolic, inflammatory, and oxidative damage. We also dissect the importance of ubiquitin- and receptor-mediated mitophagy, methodological advances to quantify mitophagy in β cells, and ongoing efforts to pharmacologically target mitophagy to preserve β cell health and improve glycemic control.

Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Autophagy: Mechanisms to Therapy, February 2026, in Keystone, with field leaders!