• Felippe Henrique Zuccolotto-Dos-Reis, Silvia Helena Andrião Escarso, Jackeline Souza Araujo, Enilza Maria Espreafico, Luciane Carla Alberici, and Claudia Ferreira da Rosa Sobreira.
• Department of Neurosciences, Division of Neurology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
• Eur. J. Clin. Invest. 2021 Sep 1; 51 (9): e13574.

BackgroundFreezing human biopsies is common in clinical practice for storage. However, this technique disrupts mitochondrial membranes, hampering further analyses of respiratory function. To contribute to laboratorial diagnosis of mitochondrial diseases, this study sought to develop a respirometry approach using O2k (Oroboros Ins.) to measure the whole electron transport chain (ETC) activity in homogenates of frozen skeletal muscle biopsies.Patients And MethodsWe enrolled 16 patients submitted to muscle biopsy in the process of routine diagnostic investigation: four with mitochondrial disease and severe mitochondrial dysfunction; seven with exercise intolerance and multiple deletions of mitochondrial DNA, presenting mild to moderate mitochondrial dysfunction; five without mitochondrial disease, as controls. Whole homogenates of muscle fragments were prepared using grinder-type equipment. O2 consumption rates were normalized using citrate synthase activity.ResultsTransmission electron microscopy confirmed mitochondrial membrane discontinuation, indicating increased permeability of mitochondrial membranes in homogenates from frozen biopsies. O2 consumption rates in the presence of acetyl-CoA lead to maximum respiratory rates sensitive to rotenone, malonate and antimycin. This protocol of acetyl-CoA-driven respiration (ACoAR), applied in whole homogenates of frozen muscle, was sensitive enough to identify ETC abnormality, even in patients with mild to moderate mitochondrial dysfunction. We demonstrated adequate repeatability of ACoAR and found significant correlation between O2 consumption rates and enzyme activity assays of individual ETC complexes.ConclusionsWe present preliminary data on a simple, low cost and reliable procedure to measure respiratory function in whole homogenates of frozen skeletal muscle biopsies, contributing to diagnosis of mitochondrial diseases in humans.© 2021 Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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