Abstract
Electron microscopy shows that intact mitochondria can be isolated from neck-muscle stored at 144h post-mortem at 4°. Isolated mitochondria, all in the condensed configuration, have clearly defined outer and inner membranes, outer compartments and intracristal spaces; a larger proportion of swollen ones was isolated from the 144h than from the 120 h post-mortem tissue.
Mitochondria from 96 h tissue still retained the following % of the initial values for the ADP/O ratio, respiratory control index (RCI) and state 3 respiratory rate observed for 0–5h tissue: malate+pyruvate, 100, 72 and 53; succinate, 80, 30 and 74; ascorbate+ tetramethyl-p-phenylencdiamine (TMPD), 92, 88 and 72.
Both the succinate and ascorbate-TMPD oxidase systems appear to have a “critical” storage time of about 70 h, whereas the malate+pyruvate system has one of about 96 h. Asharp decline of the ADP/O ratio, RCI and the state 3 respiratory rate occurred after this time, but these three parameters were better preserved in the ascorbate-TMPD oxidase system.
The oxidation of the citric acid cycle intermediates in the neck-muscle mitochondria thus shows a higher sensitivity to post-mortem ageing with respect to cytochrome oxidase activity. This is probably due to post-mortem muscle acidification.
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Cheah, K.S., Cheah, A.M. Post-mortem changes in structure and function of ox muscle mitochondria. 1. Electron microscopic and polarographic investigations. J Bioenerg Biomembr 2, 85–92 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01648923
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01648923