PRKN and Parkinson disease: PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) is a molecular sensor that accumulates at the outer membrane of damaged mitochondria to recruit the E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin and initiates the mitophagic process.7, 8, 9 So far, the impact of PINK1 and Parkin has been investigated mainly in Parkinson's disease (PD).