Physical characterization of the liquid crystalline properties of isolated normal mitochondria in brain cells of mice

Abstract

In healthy living systems, a liquid crystalline order of molecules occurs in membranous structures. The lipid component of cell biomembranes is known to form a range of mesomorphic phases. The mesomorphic properties of lipid molecules in water are considered to be particularly important for many aspects of cell membrane organization and function. The dynamic properties of biomembranes such as those that occur during fusion and transport of molecules have been linked by some scientists to the triggering of particular types of lipid lyotropic phase. Biomembrane structures are built upon a lipid bilayer structure into which the proteins are inserted so that the property of the lamellar phase of the lipid-water system is a direct relevance.
Lipids, particularly phospholipids, are important components of mitochondria. Mitochondria are ubiquitous organelles that are present in the cytoplasm of the vast majority of animal and plant cells. The mitochondria consist of an outer and inner membrane, an intermembrane space and the matrix. The major function of mitochondrial membranes (cristae) is to provide a locus for the efficient extraction of biologically useful energy from the substrates of the Krebs citric acid cycle by controlled sequential oxidative processes. The combined process of electron transfer and coupled phosphorylation which constitute mitochondrial respiration, take place in association with, and are dependent upon, the organized lipoprotein lamellar structure of the mitochondrial cristae.
This study aims to characterize the liquid crystalline properties of normal isolated mitochondria and with analysis on dynamics and function. This study may be of value in the study of disease processes and in the search for preventive and curative medicine.