Osmotic Behavior and Permeability of Osmotically Lysed Mitochondria

Experiments were carried out with water-treated isolated rat liver mitochondria (mitochondrial ghosts) previously studied by Caplan and Greenawalt and Vasington and Greenawalt. The ghosts have permeability properties and osmotic behavior comparable to those of isolated mitochondria. Although they ha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of cell biology 1976-08, Vol.70 (2), p.348-357
Main Authors: Bowman, Charles L., Tedeschi, Henry, DiDomenico, Beth J., Tung, Fred D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cell biology
Chemical suspensions
Electron microscopy
Glycerol - metabolism
In Vitro Techniques
Light refraction
Liposomes
Mitochondria
Mitochondria, Liver - metabolism
Mitochondria, Liver - ultrastructure
Mitochondrial Swelling
Optical density
Osmosis
P branes
Permeability
Potassium - metabolism
Propylene glycols
Rats
Solutes
Spectrophotometry
Sucrose - metabolism
Water - metabolism
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Summary:Experiments were carried out with water-treated isolated rat liver mitochondria (mitochondrial ghosts) previously studied by Caplan and Greenawalt and Vasington and Greenawalt. The ghosts have permeability properties and osmotic behavior comparable to those of isolated mitochondria. Although they have lost most of their internal contents, they must have resealed. Four properties were found which have not been previously described in systems derived from biological membranes: (a) an osmotic behavior in the virtual absence of internal components. (b) a self-arranging property in the formation of invaginations corresponding in morphology to the cristae. The results suggest that the assembly of the molecular components of the inner membrane is sufficient to specify the morphology. Hence the surface area to volume ratio of the vesicles may specify the presence or absence of cristae-like folds. (c) an increase in the permeability of the membranes to sucrose in the presence of iso-osmotic concentrations of sucrose. (d) an independence of the light transmitted by suspensions of the vesicles from the refractive index of the external medium. This observation runs counter to the general previous experience with either mitochondria or liposomes.
ISSN:0021-9525
1540-8140
DOI:10.1083/jcb.70.2.348