[Effect of energy metabolism inhibitors on the morphometric parameters and 3-dimensional structure of L-cell mitochondria].

It has been shown by stereological analysis that the earlier discovered changes in the structure of mitochondria in cyanide treated L-cells (decrease in numerical density of mitochondria, increase in volume density of mitochondria, and surface density of mitochondrial membranes) are prevented by oligomycin, and they do not occur in the presence of oligomycin and protonophorous uncoupler carbonylcyanide m-chlorphenyl hydrazone applied separately. Proceeding from three-dimension reconstructed mitochondrial models it has been shown that cyanide treatment of L-cells for 23 hours causes a transformation of mitochondria as discrete column-like structures into a network of mitochondrial reticulum oriented from the nucleus to the periphery of the cell. After the treatment of L-cells with cyanide together with oligomycin, or with oligomycin and protonophore applied separately, the mitochondria retain the structure of discrete column-like for mations characteristic of the control cells.

[Structural changes in L-cell mitochondria exposed to cyanide].

Using light and electron microscopy, as well as stereological analysis, a study was made of structural changes in mitochondria of cultured L-cells acted upon with 1 mM cyanide. After 23 hours of incubation, in cells cultured in the presence of cyanide the volume density of mitochondria, the volume of the average mitochondrion and the surface area of its membranes increased nearly twice as much. Concurrently, the number of mitochondria decrease also practically two-fold without any reliable changes in the surface area of membranes per unit of mitochondrion volume.