Fluorimetric Comparison of Protomitochondria and Mitochondria

摘要

Protomitochondria (PRM) are intracellular mitochondrial germ organelles, precursors of mitochon-dria in specialized cells of animals. PRM have been isolated from rat liver by centrifugation and filtrationthrough Millipore filters with pore diameters of 0.1 to 0.45 μm and characterized by fluorescence-based assay.PRM, having the volume many times smaller than that of light mitochondria (LM), did not differ much fromthe latter in protein, lipid and DNA composition, membrane charge, and some other parameters. At the sametime, the activity of some enzymes of the respiratory chain (NADH dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase)in PRM was even higher than that in mature mitochondria. The results obtained are important for understandingthe processes of mitochondrial biogenesis in specialized cells of mammals.