Techniques to Investigate Neuronal Mitochondrial Function and its Pharmacological Modulation

• Type: Another Publication in an International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2011

Authors

Jorge M A Oliveira (Author) FFUP

Journal

Title: Current Drug Targets

Vol. 12 No. 6

Pages: 762-773

ISSN: 1389-4501

Publisher: Bentham Science

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 9 Citations

Scopus - 14 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Medical and Health sciences > Basic medicine

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-002-QQT

DOI: 10.2174/138945011795528895

Abstract (EN): Mitochondria are central regulators of neuronal homeostasis and survival, and increasingly viewed as a drug target in several acute and chronic neurological disorders, e. g. stroke, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases. Frequent working hypotheses aim to establish whether and how chemical or genetic lesions affect mitochondrial function in neurons, and whether this can be rescued by pharmacological treatments. However, the generic designation 'mitochondrial function' actually encompasses a wide spectrum of individual activities, too numerous to be fully quantified by any single available technique. This review aims to provide a broad perspective on the roles played by neuronal mitochondria, and addresses multiple techniques that can be used to derive instructive functional indicators. These include measurements of mitochondrial respiration, ATP production, membrane potential, calcium handling, biogenesis, dynamic movement as well as fusion and fission. Technique descriptions are preceded by a summary of mitochondrial physiology and pharmacological tools required for functional modulation and parameter determination. Hopefully, these will assist researchers interested in testing mitochondria as a drug target in neurological disease models.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 12