0000000000725403
AUTHOR
Catherine Brenner
Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring cell death in higher eukaryotes
Cell death is essential for a plethora of physiological processes, and its deregulation characterizes numerous human diseases. Thus, the in-depth investigation of cell death and its mechanisms constitutes a formidable challenge for fundamental and applied biomedical research, and has tremendous implications for the development of novel therapeutic strategies. It is, therefore, of utmost importance to standardize the experimental procedures that identify dying and dead cells in cell cultures and/or in tissues, from model organisms and/or humans, in healthy and/or pathological scenarios. Thus far, dozens of methods have been proposed to quantify cell death-related parameters. However, no guid…
Essential versus accessory aspects of cell death: recommendations of the NCCD 2015
Cells exposed to extreme physicochemical or mechanical stimuli die in an uncontrollable manner, as a result of their immediate structural breakdown. Such an unavoidable variant of cellular demise is generally referred to as ?accidental cell death' (ACD). In most settings, however, cell death is initiated by a genetically encoded apparatus, correlating with the fact that its course can be altered by pharmacologic or genetic interventions. "Regulated cell death" (RCD) can occur as part of physiologic programs or can be activated once adaptive responses to perturbations of the extracellular or intracellular microenvironment fail. The biochemical phenomena that accompany RCD may be harnessed to…
Down-regulation of OPA1 alters mouse mitochondrial morphology, PTP function, and cardiac adaptation to pressure overload
AIMS: The optic atrophy 1 (OPA1) protein is an essential protein involved in the fusion of the mitochondrial inner membrane. Despite its high level of expression, the role of OPA1 in the heart is largely unknown. We investigated the role of this protein in Opa1(+/-) mice, having a 50% reduction in OPA1 protein expression in cardiac tissue. METHODS AND RESULTS: In mutant mice, cardiac function assessed by echocardiography was not significantly different from that of the Opa1(+/+). Electron and fluorescence microscopy revealed altered morphology of the Opa1(+/-) mice mitochondrial network; unexpectedly, mitochondria were larger with the presence of clusters of fused mitochondria and altered c…