Biochimica et biophysica acta
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Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Mar 2010
Mitochondria isolated in nearly isotonic KCl buffer: focus on cardiolipin and organelle morphology.
Rat liver mitochondria were isolated in parallel in two different isolation buffers: a standard buffer containing mannitol/sucrose and a nearly physiological KCl based solution. The two different organelle preparations were comparatively characterized by respiratory activity, heme content, microsomal and Golgi contamination, electron microscopy and lipid analyses. ⋯ Mitochondria isolated in KCl buffer are coupled and able to maintain a stable transmembrane charge separation. A number of biochemical and functional differences between the two organelle preparations are described; in particular KCl mitochondria exhibit lower cardiolipin content and smaller intracristal compartments in comparison with the standard mitochondrial preparation.