Structure and function of the energy-converting system of mitochondria

The main energy source for all endergonic processes occurring in living organisms is the phosphate bond energy of nucleoside triphosphates, especially adenosine triphosphate (ATP). In aerobic organisms, as for instance in mammals, more than 90% of ATP is formed during the process called oxidative phosphorylation. In this process, similar to that of muscle contraction and nerve excitation, nature works with vectorial processes taking place at a membrane separating distinct spaces from each other. The present article deals with the operation of a set of water-insoluble membrane proteins and enzymes vectorially transporting electrons, protons and other ions, which finally leads to the formation of ATP. This machinery transforming substrate oxidation energy into chemical energy in the form of the phosphoric anhydride bond of ATP operates with a very high efficiency. The structure and function of the machinery of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation are described. It consists of the electron transfer chain, the ATP-synthetase, the adenine nucleotide translocase and the phosphate carrier. The electron transfer chain can be resolved into multiprotein complexes—at three of them energy conversion takes place—and into the electron carriers ubiquinone and cytochrome c. The substrate oxidation energy is converted into the chemical energy of ATP with an electrochemical proton gradient as intermediary form. The energetic aspects of the processes are analyzed by linear irreversible thermodynamics. Great success has been gained during the past few years on the structural characterization of the participating proteins. The function of the various systems is partially elucidated on the molecular level; this concerns especially the mechanism of proton and adenine nucleotide translocation, as well as ATP formation.     

Effect of La on heat production by mitochondria isolated from hybrid rice

The effect of lanthanum on mitochondria isolated from hybrid rice Fengyou 559 (Oryza sativa L.) was investigated. Through in vivo culture, low-dose La³⁺ promoted, but higher dose La³⁺, restrained mitochondrial heat production. However, through in vitro incubation, La³⁺ manifested only inhibitory action on mitochondrial energy turnover, the concentration required for 50% and 100% inhibition being 50.9 and 230.2 μM (57.6 nmol/mg protein), respectively. In addition, La³⁺, like Ca²⁺, induced rice mitochondrial swelling and decreased membrane potential (Δψ), which was inhibited by the specific permeability transition inhibitor cyclosporine A (CsA). The induction approached a constant limitation while mitochondrial metabolism was completely prevented by La³⁺, and microscopy observation showed a high disruption of inner mitochondrial membrane in this state. These results demonstrated that lanthanum influenced rice mitochondria in vivo and in vitro via different action pathways, and the latter involved the opening of rice mitochondrial permeability.     

Problems of iron metabolism with special reference to biochemical, physiological, and clinical aspects

A brief account of the functions and chemical structures of the principal iron compounds found in the human body is followed by a discussion of the physiology of iron metabolism, starting with its resorption, continuing with its transport and assimilation by the body cells, and concluding with its elimination. Special attention is paid to the problems of intracellular and extracellular transport of iron. A number of diseases with characteristic disturbances of the iron metabolism are also briefly described.     

Interaction of gold nanoparticles with mitochondria

Mitochondrion is one of the most important organelles in cells with several vital responsibilities. The consequence of a deficiency in the function of mitochondrion could result with the wide range of diseases and disorders. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of utilizing surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) to understand the mode of interaction of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with mitochondria. The living lung cancer cells and the isolated mitochondria from these cells were treated with gold colloidal suspension for SERS experiments. The AFM images of the mitochondria confirmed that the treatment did not cause substantial damage to mitochondria. The localization of GNPs in living cells is investigated with confocal microscopy and found that GNPs form aggregates in the cytosol away from the mitochondria. However, SERS spectra obtained from isolated mitochondria and living cells indicate that GNPs escaped from the endosomes or entered into the living cell through another route may be in contact with mitochondria in a living cell. The findings of this study indicate that SERS can be used for mitochondrial research.     

Nuclear Energy Reserves and Long-Term Energy Requirements

In this article the world's potential energy reserves are summarized on the basis of available estimates, and the future energy consumption is estimated with the aid of a working hypothesis relating to the growth of the world's population (P) and the energy consumption per capita (γ). According to this estimate, the energy requirements in 30 years will be about seven times and in 80 years about fifty times as high as they are today, and all the concentrated energy sources will be exhausted in about 120 to 160 years. – The energy requirements in the steady state (P_γ = const.) could be of the order of 10¹³ MWh per year and could be met out of magmatic rocks (U,Th) and sea water (U,D). High priority should be given to research and development work on the construction, reliability, and safety of breeder and fusion reactors, the chemical treatment and final disposal of radioactive waste, the extraction of uranium, thorium, and deuterium from the “primitive” raw materials, the relevant problems relating to protection of the environment, and the worldwide control of the excess birthrate.     

量热法研究线粒体代谢的热力学和动力学行为

线粒体是细胞中极为重要的细胞器，是产生细胞所必需的“富能”物质ATP的重要场所，为细胞活动提供所需化学能．在生命体能量代谢过程中除一部分能量用于合成ATP外，其余则以热的形式释出．用精密热量计测出线粒体代谢过程中的热量输出对了解线粒体的功能和代谢机制具有十分重要的意义．用微量热法研究线粒体体外代谢已有一些报导［‘，’］．本工作用精密热量计和差式扫描量热仪侧定了水稻线粒体体外代谢热谱和DSC曲线，计算了水稻线粒体活性增长速率常数，比较了不同保藏时间的水稻线粒体体外代谢的差异，并初步探讨了水稻线粒体在变…     

Quantitative determination of phospholipids in mitochondria using HPTLC and fluorimetric assay in situ

A method is described for quantitative determination of phospholipids of mitochondria following one-dimensional thin-layer chromatography without previous elution. Using high performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) and an in situ fluorescence technique, the time needed for quantitative determination is relatively short. As the method is rather sensitive, small amounts of the extracts can be applied (about 200 ng of total phospholipids per spot). The reproducibility for the phospholipid fractions determined was in the range of 8–17%. The procedure was tested with lipid extracts of rat liver mitochondria. The method allows the determination of cardiolipin, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, phosphatidyl inositol, phosphatidyl choline, and sphingomyelin.     

HPLC in pharmacokinetics and metabolism studies

Summary The use of high-performance liquid chromatography in kinetics and metabolism studies is demonstrated.The following kinetic parameters are ascertained after single oral and intravenous administration of a drug: absorption by areal comparison, elimination constant in the -phase, and clearance.Concentration levels in serum are measured after repeated oral administration on several days, with pharmacokinetic model fit to estimate limit concentrations in the steady state. Species-dependencies in metabolism are investigated in 24-h urines.The necessary characterization of drug and metabolite peaks is obtained by in-series connection of several detectors.The relative bioavailability of a controlled release form is determined by measuring drug concentrations in the blood.     

Capillary GC-MS investigation of the metabolism and excretion of oxabolone in man

The metabolism of oxabolone cipionate, 17-(3-cyclopentyl-1-oxopropoxy)-4-hydroxyestr-4-en-3-one, a synthetic anabolic steroid, was investigated in man, the cumulative urinary excretion and the metabolism of the compounds being studied by GC-MS in both electron impact and chemical ionization modes. After administration by injection to volunteers, five different metabolities were detected in urine. The metabolites and the parent compound were detected in urine up to a week after administration.     

Improving Energy Metabolism of Deproteinized Extract of Calf Blood Through Regulation of Hmgcs2, Cpt1a,Angptl4, Cyp8b1, and Ehhadh Genes in Mice

Herein, we described the physicochemical properties of deproteinized extract of calf blood(DECB) and established a hypoxia model treated with or without DECB to detect the sugar, lactic acid, protein, and ATP contents of mice and then identified and analyzed the differentially expressed genes between two groups using mRNA expression chip. According to the results of the airtight hypoxia experiment, mice in the model+DECB group had a signifi? cantly prolonged time of hypoxia tolerance compared with the model group. The biochemical test indicated that DECB could significantly increase the level of sugar, ATP and proteins and reduce the amount of lactic acid in mice. It also revealed that Hmgcs2, Cptla, Angptl4, Cyp8b], and Ehhadh genes were involved in mice energy metabolism, and were closely associated witli metabolic signaling pathway. These results suggest that DECB might be a potential drug to treat metabolic diseases. Among the genes with differential expression under hypoxia, Angptl4, Cyp8bl, and Ehhadh were critical factors for sugar metabolism. Hmgcs2 provided energy directly, and Cptla regulated cellular inflammatory responses, promoting energy metabolism.     

A novel fluorescent probe with a large Stokes shift for real-time imaging mitochondria in different living cell lines

Fluorescent dyes with large Stokes shift play a key role in avoiding self-quenching and scattered light of dyes in the process of biological imaging. In this work, a novel mitochondria-targetable fluorescent dye (PI-C2) with large Stokes shift (e. g. Maximum value is 219 nm in DMSO) have been developed. Compared to the commercial mitochondria probes MTR and MTG (Less than 30 nm in various solution), the newly constructed PI-C2 has a much larger Stokes shift in various solutions (169–219 nm in various solutions). Furthermore, the probe can successfully be applied for sensing mitochondria, and exhibited excellent photostability in different living cell lines. The novel fluorescent platform with the large Stokes may be extended to construct powerful fluorescent probes with large Stokes shift for detecting a wide variety of biomolecules in mitochondria.     

Quantitative Mitochondrial Proteomics Study on Protective Mechanism of Grape Seed Proanthocyanidin Extracts Against Ischemia/Reperfusion Heart Injury in Rat

Cardiac ischemia/reperfusion(I/R) injury is a critical condition, often associated with high morbidity and mortality. The cardioprotective effect of grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts(GSPE) against oxidant injury during I/R has been described in previous studies. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. This study investigated the effect of GSPE on reperfusion arrhythmias especially ventricular tachycardia(VT) and ventricular fibrillation(VF), the lactic acid accumulation and the ultrastructure of ischemic cardiomyocytes as well as the global changes of mitochondria proteins in in vivo rat heart model against I/R injury. GSPE significantly reduced the incidence of VF and VT, lessened the lactic acid accumulation and attenuated the ultrastructure damage. Twenty differential proteins related to cardiac protection were revealed by isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation(iTRAQ) profiling. These proteins were mainly involved in energy metabolism. Besides, monoamine oxidase A(MAOA) was also identified. The differential expression of several proteins was validated by Western blot. Our study offered important information on the mechanism of GSPE treatment in ischemic heart disease.     

石墨炔纳米材料的制备及在电化学能源中的应用

石墨炔纳米材料的制备与应用是石墨炔材料研究的重要方向, 通过对其纳米结构进行设计与优化, 可以提高石墨炔材料及其杂化结构的性能, 拓展其在能源储存与转换领域的应用. 本综述介绍了不同形貌和结构的石墨炔基纳米材料, 如纳米墙、 纳米片、 纳米薄膜等结构. 阐述了不同结构特征的石墨炔基纳米材料在电化学储能器件以及电化学能源催化中的应用, 同时也探讨了石墨炔不同纳米形貌和结构在能源应用领域快速发展的机遇及所面临的挑战.     

Protein phosphorylation in mitochondria – A study on fermentative and respiratory growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Phosphorylation as a posttranslational protein modification is a common subject of proteomic studies, but phosphorylation in mitochondria is still poorly investigated. The study presented here applied 2‐DE to characterize phosphorylation in the yeast mitochondrial proteome and identified 59 spots corresponding to 34 phosphorylated mitochondrial or mitochondria‐associated proteins. Most of these proteins presented putative substrates of mitogen‐activated protein and target of rapamycin kinases, cAMP‐dependent protein kinase, cyclin‐dependent kinases and Snf1p suggesting them as key players in the phosphorylation of mitochondrial or mitochondria‐associated proteins. The dynamic behaviour of the phosphoproteome under a major metabolic change, the shift from fermentation to respiration (diauxic shift), was further studied. Eight proteins (Ald4p, Eft1p/2p, Eno1p, Eno2p, Om14p, Pda1p, Qcr2p, Sdh1p) had growth dependent changes in their phosphorylation, indicating a role of phosphorylation‐dependent regulation of translation, metabolic pathways (e.g. glucose fermentation, tricarboxylic acid cycle, pyruvate dehydrogenase and its bypass) and respiratory chain.     

Natural Cellulose Substance Based Energy Materials

Natural cellulose substances have been proven to be ideal structural templates and scaffolds for the fabrication of artificial functional materials with designed structures, psychochemical properties and functionalities. They possess unique hierarchically porous network structures with flexible, biocompatible, and environmental characteristics, exhibiting great potentials in the preparation of energy-related materials. This minireview summarizes natural cellulose-based materials that are used in batteries, supercapacitors, photocatalytic hydrogen generation, photoelectrochemical cells, and solar cells. When natural cellulose substances are employed as the structural template or carbon sources of energy materials, the three-dimensional porous interwoven structures are perfectly replicated, leading to the enhanced performances of the resultant materials. Benefiting from the mechanical strengths of natural cellulose substances, wearable, portable, free-standing, and flexible materials for energy storage and conversion are easily obtained by using natural cellulose substances as the substrates.     

CE-LIF analysis of mitochondria using uncoated and dynamically coated capillaries

This report is the first demonstration of the use of uncoated and dynamically coated capillaries for the separation of individual mitochondria via CE. Currently, the analysis of individual mitochondria relies upon fused-silica capillaries coated with a hydrophilic polymer (e.g. poly(acryloylaminopropanol)), which is used to minimize adsorption to the capillary surface. Both uncoated fused-silica capillaries and 0.2% w/w poly(vinyl alcohol) dynamic coating solutions are used to successfully analyze isolated individual mitochondrial particles using CE-LIF. While it was possible to separate mouse liver mitochondria on an uncoated capillary, rat liver mitochondria proved to have strong adsorption characteristics that only allowed them to be adequately separated with a PVA dynamic coating or a poly(acryloylaminopropanol) (AAP) capillary. The possible causes for this adsorption are analyzed and discussed. This study shows that uncoated and dynamically coated capillaries can be used in place of AAP-coated capillaries to analyze mitochondria and suggests the use of these capillaries for the analysis of other organelles, offering a greatly simplified method for the analysis of individual organelles.     

Secondary metabolism in simulated microgravity

We have studied microbial secondary metabolism in a simulated microgravity (SMG) environment provided by NASA rotating-wall bioreactors (RWBs). These reactors were designed to simulate some aspects of actual microgravity that occur in space. Growth and product formation were observed in SMG in all cases studied, i.e., Bacillus brevis produced gramicidin S (GS), Streptomyces clavuligerus made beta-lactam antibiotics, Streptomyces hygroscopicus produced rapamycin, and Escherichia coli produced microcin B17 (MccB17). Of these processes, only GS production was unaffected by SMG; production of the other three products was inhibited. This was determined by comparison with performance in an RWB positioned in a different mode to provide a normal gravity (NG) environment. Carbon source repression by glycerol of the GS process, as observed in shaken flasks, was not observed in the RWBs, whether operated in the SMG or NG mode. The same phenomenon occurred in the case of MccB17 production, with respect to glucose repression. Thus, the negative effects of carbon source on GS and beta-lactam formation are presumably dependent on shear, turbulence, and/or vessel geometry, but not on gravity. Stimulatory effects of phosphate and the precursor L-lysine on beta-lactam antibiotic production, as observed in flasks, also occurred in SMG. An almost complete shift in the localization of produced MccB17 from cells to extracellular medium was observed when E. coli was grown in the RWB under SMG or NG. If a plastic bead was placed in the RWB, accumulation became cellular, as it is in shaken flasks, indicating that sheer stress favors a cellular location. In the case of rapamycin, the same type of shift was observed, but it was less dramatic, i.e., growth in the RWB under SMG shifted the distribution of produced rapamycin from 2/3 cellular:1/3 extracellular to 1/3 cellular:2/3 extracellular. Stress has been shown to induce or promote secondary metabolism in a number of other microbial systems. RWBs provide a low stress SMG environment, which, however, supports only poor production of MccB17, as compared to production in shaken flasks. We wondered whether the poor production in RWBs under SMG is due to the low level of stress, and whether increasing stress in the RWBs would raise the amount of MccB17 formed. We found that increasing shear stress by adding a single Teflon bead to the RWB improved MccB17 production. Although shear stress seems to have a marked positive effect on MccB17 production in SMG, addition of various concentrations of ethanol to RWBs (or to shaken flasks) failed to increase MccB17 production. Ethanol stress merely decreased production and, at higher concentrations, inhibited growth. Interestingly, cells growing in the RWB were much more resistant to the growth- and production-inhibitory effects of ethanol than cells growing in shaken flasks. With respect to S. hygroscopicus, addition of Teflon beads to the RWB reversed the inhibition of growth, but rapamycin production was still markedly inhibited, and the distribution did not revert back to a preferential cellular site.     

Energy production in anaerobic organisms

Biological redox processes are required for the synthesis of “energy-rich” compounds which are in an enzyme-controlled equilibrium with the general energy carrier adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The basic mechanisms of biological energy transformation are substrate level (SLP) and electron transport phosphorylations (ETP). In anaerobic catabolism the numerous nutrients are channelled into only a few substrate level phosphorylations; the occurrence in chemotrophic anaerobes of energy conservation coupled to electron transport has not yet been demonstrated unequivocally. At present, the determination of the ATP turnover (Y_ATP) in growing cells appears to be a promising method of approaching this problem. The existing knowledge of oxygen dependent enzyme reactions and their molecular evolution provides the basis for a biochemical definition of aerobic and anaerobic organisms.     

Energy deposition in the plasma-facing components of Ignitor

The large fluxes of fusion neutrons produced in the Ignitor experiment can cause severe damage to the most exposed components of the tokamak or of the diagnostic system. In a simplified geometry model, the FLUKA and the MCNP-4B Monte Carlo codes are used to evaluate the influence of the neutron source energy and the material composition on the energy deposition in these components.