- Scientists at CiQUS (USC) discover a simple tool based on fluorescence microscopy for studying the renewal of mitochondria, the cell’s battery
- This renewal constitutes an essential cell quality control for addressing multiple diseases (Alzheimer, Parkinson, cancer, etc.) of mitochondrial origin and is also key in the ageing process
- This work, published in the prestigious Scientific Reports journal belonging to Nature Publishing Group, represents a great step forward in biological chemistry, the strategic focus of CiQUS-labelled research
Researchers at CiQUS (USC) have discovered a compound which is capable of signalling the recycling of mitochondria, the cell’s source of energy, in a simple and efficient manner. This new molecular tool, called MitoBlue, could help in better understanding cell mechanisms of mitochondria and thus facilitate the study of neurodegenerative diseases and other major diseases which originate from disorders of the mitochondrial homeostasis.
This work, which was initiated following the PhD thesis by Mateo Sánchez and has been led by José Manuel Martínez Costas, in collaboration with Eugenio Vázquez Sentís and José Luis Mascareñas, principal investigators at CiQUS, has just been published in the prestigious Scientific Reports journal, which belongs to Nature Publishing Group.
The Rosetta Stone of cell hieroglyphic
The mitochondria of the cells function in a similar way to batteries in a mobile phone and, as with phone devices, they discharge and must be renewed permanently. This process of quality control and mitochondrial recycling that the cell undergoes is of utmost physiological importance and has been linked to numerous neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinson, other diseases such as cancer, diabetes or heart diseases, and to natural processes such as ageing. Nevertheless, despite its crucial importance in the life of cells, there are no tools that allow us to study them in a simple manner. “MitoBlue compound that we have discovered allows for the study of these recycling processes through fluorescence microscopy. These processes favour the detailed characterisation of communication between mitochondria and lysosomes, which are responsible for the intracellular digestion”, explains Eugenio Vázquez, PI at CiQUS.
Fluorescence is one of the most widely used physical phenomena in biological and analytical microscopy, mainly for its high sensitivity and specificity, and makes it possible to determine the distribution of one single species of molecule, its quantity and location within the cell. “So far, most of observation techniques required cell adhesion, which may affect the structures of the cell itself and hide the observation of dynamic processes. This is something we have managed to replace with this alternative method that is highly efficient for mitochondria decryption and has great potential in basic applications in biomedical research”, adds Eugenio Vázquez.
