The electrophoretic method of Schägger and von Jagow (Anal. Biochem. 199, 233-231 (1991) was adapted to allow analysis of enzymes of the respiratory chain and the ATP-synthase in cultured human skin fibroblasts and amniocytes. The cells were fractionated with digitonin and mitoplasts were isolated and used for electrophoresis. The purification of mitoplasts and the resolution by electrophoresis of the oxidative phosphorylation complexes were optimal when 0.8-1.6 mg of digitonin/mg protein was used. Intact complexes I, III, IV, and V were clearly separated by blue native-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) in the first dimension and their individual subunits by tricine-sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE in the second dimension. Approximately 10(6) fibroblasts or amniocytes (0.4-0.6 mg protein) were sufficient for complete analysis of the oxidative phosphorylation complexes using detection by staining and by Western blotting. Comparable resolution was obtained with other cell types. Studies of fibroblasts from patients with cytochrome c oxidase deficiency demonstrated the usefulness of the method for diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders.

Institute of Physiology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Prague

References provided by Crossref.org

Czech Footprints in the Bioenergetics Research

Neonatal onset of mitochondrial disorders in 129 patients: clinical and laboratory characteristics and a new approach to diagnosis

Development of a human mitochondrial oligonucleotide microarray (h-MitoArray) and gene expression analysis of fibroblast cell lines from 13 patients with isolated F1Fo ATP synthase deficiency

Tissue-specific cytochrome c oxidase assembly defects due to mutations in SCO2 and SURF1

Diminished synthesis of subunit a (ATP6) and altered function of ATP synthase and cytochrome c oxidase due to the mtDNA 2 bp microdeletion of TA at positions 9205 and 9206

Glycerophosphate-dependent hydrogen peroxide production by brown adipose tissue mitochondria and its activation by ferricyanide

Defective kinetics of cytochrome c oxidase and alteration of mitochondrial membrane potential in fibroblasts and cytoplasmic hybrid cells with the mutation for myoclonus epilepsy with ragged-red fibres ('MERRF') at position 8344 nt