PRKN and Parkinson disease: However, it has been clearly demonstrated that NIX‐mediated mitophagy is active even in the absence of a functional PINK1/Parkin pathway, as overexpression of NIX in human fibroblasts, isolated from patients with Parkin or PINK1‐related early‐onset PD, was capable of restoring carbonyl cyanide m‐chlorophenylhydrazone‐induced mitophagy 104.