BNIP3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Our data provide the first evidence that, in addition to the canonical coding function of EGR1 peptides to initiate the immediate early response to stress 32-34, the nuclear-encoded EGR1 ntmRNAs aberrantly translocate to HCC mitochondria, where they function as a new class of epigenetic ntmRNA messengers and regulate mitophagy in HCC cells by coordinating the homodimerization of mitophagy receptor BNIP3, a critical event for mitophagy initiation.