Mitochondrion

Mitochondrion.

Diverse biological data may be used to create illustrations of molecules in their cellular context. I describe the scientific results that support a recent textbook illustration of a mitochondrion. The image magnifies a portion of the mitochondrion by one million times, showing the location and form of membranes and individual macromolecules, revealing the molecular basis of its role in energy ...

Lead and the mitochondrion.

In studies on the distribution of lead in rats given drinking water containing lead acetate at concentrations: 0, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 ,ugPb/l for one year, no change was observed in the organ distribution of lead, or in the subcellular distribution of lead in the organelles in the heart. The mitochondrial enzyme, ferrochelatase, was significantly depressed in both the 500 and 1000 ptg/l gro...

Is myelin a mitochondrion?

It has been hypothesized that myelin acts like a mitochondrion, generating ATP across the membranes of its sheath. By calculating the proton motive force across the myelin membrane based on known values for the pH and membrane potential of the oligodendrocyte, we find that insufficient energy could be harvested from proton flow across the myelin membrane to synthesize ATP. In fact, if the respi...

Systems biology of the mitochondrion.

The mitochondrion and its disorders

© 2003 Blackwell Science Ltd nalling and apoptosis (programmed cell death), and they have a crucial role in metabolism. Many metabolic enzyme systems are contained within mitochondria, including components of tricarboxylic acid (Krebs) cycle enzymes, and the fatty acid β-oxidation pathway. However, the term ‘mitochondrial disorder’ usually refers to a primary abnormality of the mitochondrial re...