mito-QC illuminates mitophagy and mitochondrial architecture in vivo

Thomas McWilliams, Alan Prescott, George Allen, Jevgenia Tamjar, Michael Munson, Calum Thomson, Miratul Muqit, Ian Ganley (Lead / Corresponding author)

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362 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Autophagic turnover of mitochondria, termed mitophagy, is proposed to be an essential quality control (QC) mechanism of pathophysiological relevance in mammals. However, if and how mitophagy proceeds within specific cellular subtypes in vivo remains unclear, largely due to a lack of tractable tools and models.
To address this, we have developed "mito-QC", a transgenic mouse with a pHsensitive fluorescent mitochondrial signal. This allows the assessment of mitophagy and mitochondrial architecture in vivo. Using confocal microscopy, we demonstrate that mito-QC is compatible with classical and contemporary techniques in histochemistry and allows unambiguous in vivo detection of mitophagy and mitochondrial morphology at single-cell resolution within multiple organ systems. Strikingly, our model uncovers highly enriched and differential zones of mitophagy in the developing heart and within specific cells of the adult kidney. mito-QC is an experimentally advantageous tool of broad relevance to cell biology researchers within both discovery-based and translational research communities.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)333-345
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Cell Biology
Volume214
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Jul 2016

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    Ganley, Ian

    • MRC PPU - Professor (Teaching and Research) of Cellular Homeostasis

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