BNIP3 and acute kidney injury: Studies report that the absence of BNIP3 exacerbates acute kidney injury (AKI) induced by ischemia–reperfusion (IR), while over expression of BNIP3 not only reverses the decline of mitochondrial autophagy, but also reduces kidney damage, indicating that BNIP3-mediated mitochondrial autophagy plays a protective role in AKI (63, 64).