Mature Erythrocytes of Iguana iguana (Squamata,Iguanidae) Possess Functional Mitochondria |
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| Authors: | Giuseppina Di Giacomo Silvia Campello Mauro Corrado Livia Di Giambattista Claudia Cirotti Giuseppe Filomeni Gabriele Gentile |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Dipartimento di Biologia, Università Tor Vergata, Roma, Italia.; 2. IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italia.; 3. Istituto Telethon Dulbecco, Istituto Veneto di Medicina Molecolare, Padova, Italia.; 4. Cell Stress and Survival Unit, Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark.; University of Alabama at Birmingham, UNITED STATES, |
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| Abstract: | Electron microscopy analyses of Iguana iguana blood preparations revealed the presence of mitochondria within erythrocytes with well-structured cristae. Fluorescence microscopy analyses upon incubation with phalloidin-FITC, Hoechst 33342 and mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Δψm)-sensitive probe MitoTracker Red indicated that mitochondria i) widely occur in erythrocytes, ii) are polarized, and iii) seem to be preferentially confined at a "perinuclear" region, as confirmed by electron microscopy. The analysis of NADH-dependent oxygen consumption showed that red blood cells retain the capability to consume oxygen, thereby providing compelling evidence that mitochondria of Iguana erythrocytes are functional and capable to perform oxidative phosphorylation. |
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