Mitochondrial membrane potential

By L. Zorova, V. Popkov, E. Plotnikov, D. Silachev, I. Pevzner, S. S. Jankauskas, V. Babenko, S. D. Zorov, A. V. Balakireva, M. Juhaszova and 2 more. Analytical Biochemistry, 2017

1,783 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) generated by proton pumps (Complexes I, III and IV) is an essential component in the process of energy storage during oxidative phosphorylation. Together with the proton gradient (ΔpH), ΔΨm forms the transmembrane potential of hydrogen ions which is harnessed to make ATP. The levels of ΔΨm and ATP in the cell are kept relatively stable although there are limited fluctuations of both these factors that can occur reflecting normal physiological activity. However, sustained changes in both factors may be deleterious. A long-lasting drop or rise of ΔΨmvs normal levels may induce unwanted loss of cell viability and be a cause of various pathologies. Among other factors, ΔΨm plays a key role in mitochondrial homeostasis through selective elimination of dysfunctional mitochondria. It is also a driving force for transport of ions (other than H+) and proteins which are necessary for healthy mitochondrial functioning. We propose additional potential mechanisms for which ΔΨm is essential for maintenance of cellular health and viability and provide recommendations how to accurately measure ΔΨm in a cell and discuss potential sources of artifacts.

Subfields: Clinical Biochemistry, Molecular Biology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/6b01ee3ba87b3f4602846c3a59e7b0898a9b78eb

Citations in the corpus

• Mitochondria in oxidative stress, inflammation and aging: from mechanisms to therapeutic advances (2025, neutral): “253 In senescent cells, mitochondrial proton leak was observed, associated with the weakened proton gradient and further reducing the ef fi ciency of ATP synthesis.”
• Analysis of the Mitochondrial Membrane Potential Using the Cationic JC-1 Dye as a Sensitive Fluorescent Probe (2019, neutral): “The direction of the mitochondrial membrane potential (with the interior of the organelle being electronegative) is such to produce inward transport of cations and outward transport of anions, thus promoting accumulation of cations in the mitochondria (Zorova et al., 2018).”