Patient-derived fibroblasts indicate oxidative stress status and may justify antioxidant therapy in OXPHOS disorders.

Oxidative phosphorylation disorders are often associated with increased oxidative stress and antioxidant therapy is frequently given as treatment. However, the role of oxidative stress in oxidative phosphorylation disorders or patients is far from clear and consequently the preventive or therapeutic effect of antioxidants is highly anecdotic. Therefore, we performed a systematic study of a panel of oxidative stress parameters (reactive oxygen species levels, damage and defense) in fibroblasts of twelve well-characterized oxidative phosphorylation patients with a defect in the POLG1 gene, in the mitochondrial DNA-encoded tRNA-Leu gene (m.

BOLA1 is an aerobic protein that prevents mitochondrial morphology changes induced by glutathione depletion.

Aims: The BolA protein family is widespread among eukaryotes and bacteria. In Escherichia coli, BolA causes a spherical cell shape and is overexpressed during oxidative stress. Here we aim to elucidate the possible role of its human homolog BOLA1 in mitochondrial morphology and thiol redox potential regulation.

Iterative orthology prediction uncovers new mitochondrial proteins and identifies C12orf62 as the human ortholog of COX14, a protein involved in the assembly of cytochrome c oxidase.

Background: Orthology is a central tenet of comparative genomics and ortholog identification is instrumental to protein function prediction. Major advances have been made to determine orthology relations among a set of homologous proteins. However, they depend on the comparison of individual sequences and do not take into account divergent orthologs.

Calcium and ATP handling in human NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase deficiency.

Proper cell functioning requires precise coordination between mitochondrial ATP production and local energy demand. Ionic calcium (Ca(2+)) plays a central role in this coupling because it activates mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) during hormonal and electrical cell stimulation. To determine how mitochondrial dysfunction affects cytosolic and mitochondrial Ca(2+)/ATP handling, we performed life-cell quantification of these parameters in fibroblast cell lines derived from healthy subjects and patients with isolated deficiency of the first OXPHOS complex (CI).

Computer-assisted live cell analysis of mitochondrial membrane potential, morphology and calcium handling.

Mitochondria are crucial for many aspects of cellular homeostasis and a sufficiently negative membrane potential (Deltapsi) across the mitochondrial inner membrane (MIM) is required to sustain most mitochondrial functions including ATP generation, MIM fusion, and calcium uptake and release. Here, we present a microscopy approach for automated quantification of Deltapsi and mitochondrial position, shape and calcium handling in individual living cells. In the base protocol, cells are stained with tetramethyl rhodamine methyl ester (TMRM), a fluorescent cation that accumulates in the mitochondrial matrix according to Deltapsi, and visualized using video-microscopy.