Considering that (i) numerous neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by iron accumulation (Oshiro et al., 2011) which plays a crucial role in NMDA/NO-mediated neurotoxicity (Cheah et al., 2006; Chen et al., 2013); (ii) iron chelation is a strong Pink/parkin-independent activator of mitophagy (Allen et al., 2013), it has been proposed that an umbalance in homeostasis of this ion might affect in neurons the mitochondrial quality control processes (Allen et al., 2013). Here, PRKN is linked to neurodegenerative disease.