Mitochondrial Electron Transfer Cascade Enzyme Activity Assessment in Cultured Neurons and Select Brain Regions.

Measurement of the electron transfer cascade (ETC) enzyme activities and their kinetic profiles is important in assessing mitochondrial function in the nervous system in health and disease or following exposure to toxic agents. The optimization of enzymatic assays for brain tissues and neurons is critical to the development of high-throughput assay formats. This article describes a step-by-step protocol for reliable and reproducible assessment of ETC enzyme kinetics (Complex I-IV) for mitochondria from small quantities of tissue from different brain regions, such as the hippocampus, cerebellum, and frontal cortex, or from neurons in culture.