The regulation of mitochondrial morphology is closely coupled to cell survival during stress. We examined changes in the mitochondrial morphology of mouse C2C12 skeletal muscle cells in response to heat acclimation and heat shock exposure. Acclimated cells showed a greater survival rate during heat shock exposure than non-acclimated cells, and were characterized by long interconnected mitochond...

Mitochondrial morphology is the result of balance between mitochondrial fusion and fission processes. mediated by cytosolic GTPase DRP1 which anchored to outer membrane (OMM) MiD49, MiD51, Mff. Changes in due alterations or proteins impact cytoplasmic ([Ca2+]cyt) ([Ca2+]mt) calcium homeostasis. Previous studies from our laboratory showed that cells a patient bearing MiD49 deleterious mutation e...

Mitochondrial function is intimately linked to cellular survival, growth, and death. Mitochondria not only generate ATP from oxidative phosphorylation, but also mediate intracellular calcium buffering, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and apoptosis. Electron leakage from the electron transport chain, especially from damaged or depolarized mitochondria, can generate excess free radic...

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small subset of malignant cells, possessing stemness, with strong tumorigenic capability, conferring resistance to therapy and leading to the relapse of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Our previous study suggested that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) would be a novel target for the CSCs-like side population (SP) cells in NPC. In the present study, we further found that C...

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a group of compounds found in various plants and some of them are widely consumed in the world as herbal medicines and food supplements. PAs are potent hepatotoxins that cause irreversible liver injury in animals and humans. However, the mechanisms by which PAs induce liver injury are not clear. In the present study, we determined the hepatotoxicity and molecul...

The regulation of mitochondrial morphology is closely coupled to cell survival during stress. We examined changes in the mitochondrial morphology of mouse C2C12 skeletal muscle cells in response to heat acclimation and heat shock exposure. Acclimated cells showed a greater survival rate during heat shock exposure than non-acclimated cells, and were characterized by long interconnected mitochond...

BACKGROUND Whether alterations in mitochondrial morphology affect the susceptibility of the heart to ischemia/reperfusion injury is unknown. We hypothesized that modulating mitochondrial morphology protects the heart against ischemia/reperfusion injury. METHODS AND RESULTS In response to ischemia, mitochondria in HL-1 cells (a cardiac-derived cell line) undergo fragmentation, a process that i...

The objective of this study was to investigate the expression level of dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) in vascular endothelium of hypertension rats and its correlation with expression of inflammatory factors. Twenty spontaneous hypertension rats (SHR) were randomly divided into SHR group (n=10) and inhibition group (MD group, n=10), and the Sprague Dawley rats were enrolled as the control grou...