Schizophrenia is a chronic and often debilitating illness which affects about 1% of the world population. Some reagents have been used to simulate schizophrenic disorders in laboratory animals, such as amphetamine and ketamine. Previous studies have suggested that reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, reduced levels of ATP, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis are involved in the pathoph...

The mechanisms that enable the heart to rapidly increase ATP supply in line with increased demand have not been fully elucidated. Here we used an adenoviral system to express the photoproteins luciferase and aequorin, targeted to the mitochondria or cytosol of adult cardiomyocytes, to investigate the interrelationship between ATP and Ca(2+) in these compartments. In neither compartment were cha...

A voltage-gated channel, called VDAC (mitochondrial porin) is known to be responsible for most of the metabolite flux across the mitochondrial outer membrane. Here, direct measurements of ATP flux through VDAC channels reconstituted into planar phospholipid membranes establish that VDAC is sufficient to provide passage for ATP efflux from mitochondria. Further, the gating of the channel can shu...

Cancer cells are known to have different metabolic properties than normal cells, particularly their tendency to undergo glycolysis even under aerobic favoring conditions. This has created interest in how mitochondrial function in tumor cells may differ from that in normal cells. Using human malignant cells (SW-620, PC-3, HT-1080, SK-MEL, HL-60, K-562 and MOLT-3), human fibroblast (CCL-153) and ...

Cancer cells are known to have different metabolic properties than normal cells, particularly their tendency to undergo glycolysis even under aerobic favoring conditions. This has created interest in how mitochondrial function in tumor cells may differ from that in normal cells. Using human malignant cells (SW-620, PC-3, HT-1080, SK-MEL, HL-60, K-562 and MOLT-3), human fibroblast (CCL-153) and ...

Increased resistance to myocardial ischemia in chronically hypoxic immature rabbit hearts is associated with activation of ATP-sensitive K(+) (K(ATP)) channels. We determined whether chronic hypoxia from birth alters the function of the mitochondrial K(ATP) channel. The K(ATP) channel opener bimakalim (1 micromol/L) increased postischemic recovery of left ventricular developed pressure in isola...

F1FO-ATP synthase is critical for mitochondrial functions. The deregulation of this enzyme results in dampened mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and activated mitochondrial permeability transition (mPT), defects which accompany Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the molecular mechanisms that connect F1FO-ATP synthase dysfunction and AD remain unclear. Here, we observe selective l...

Objective(s): Investigation of acute effect on cellular bioenergetics provides the opportunity to characterize the possible adverse effects of drugs more comprehensively. This study aimed to investigate the changes in biochemical and biophysical properties of heart mitochondria induced by captopril and nifedipine antihypertensive treatment. Materials and Methods: Male, 12-week-old Wistar rats i...

The mitochondrial matrix is the supplier of cellular ATP. The short Ca(2+)-binding mitochondrial carrier (SCaMC) is one of the two mitochondrial carriers responsible for transporting ATP across the mitochondrial inner membrane. While the ADP/ATP carrier (AAC) accounts for the bulk ADP/ATP recycling in the matrix, the function of SCaMC is important for mitochondrial activities that depend on ade...

Neurons express a variety of plasma-membrane potassium channels that play important roles in regulating neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission, but also contain mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channels, the functions of which are unknown. Studies of cardiac cells suggest that similar mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channels are involved in the process of ischemic preconditi...