Production of reactive oxygen species by the mitochondrial electron transport chain in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis> |
| |
Authors: | Alberto Sanz Rhoda Stefanatos George McIlroy |
| |
Institution: | 1.Institute of Medical Technology and Tampere University Hospital,University of Tampere,Tampere,Finland |
| |
Abstract: | Mitochondrial free radicals and in particular mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species (mtROS) are considered to be totally or
partially responsible for several different diseases including Parkinson, diabetes or cancer. Even more importantly, mtROS
have also been proposed as the main driving force behind the aging process. Thus, in the last decade, there has been a growing
interest in the role of free radicals as signalling molecules. Collectively this makes understanding mechanisms controlling
free radical production extremely important. There is extensive published literature on mammalian models (essentially rat,
mouse and guinea pig) however; this is not the case in Drosophila melanogaster. Drosophila is an excellent model to study different physiological and pathological processes. Additionally a robust method
to study mtROS is extremely useful. In the present article, we describe a simple—but extremely sensitive—method to study mtROS
production in Drosophila. We have performed various experiments to determine which specific respiratory complexes produce
free radicals in the electron transport chain of Drosophila melanogaster. Complex I is the main generator of ROS in Drosophila mitochondria, leaking electrons either in the forward or reverse direction. The production of ROS during reverse electron
transport can be prevented either by rotenone or by the oxidation of NADH by complex I. These results clearly show that Drosophila mitochondria function in a very similar way to mammalian mitochondria, and therefore are a very relevant experimental model
for biochemical studies related to ageing. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|