Accumulation of Exogenous Amyloid-Beta Peptide in Hippocampal Mitochondria Causes Their Dysfunction: A Protective Role for Melatonin
Figure 6
Aβ-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. In order to correlate both the presence of Aβ within mitochondria and the overproduction of ROS with functional alterations in mitochondria, oxygen consumption in isolated mitochondria (1 mg/mL) was measured using a Clark-type oxygen electrode at 34°C in treatment buffer, adding succinate as substrate. The respiratory control ratio [state 3 rate] : [state 4 rate], as an indicator of the appropriate coupling between respiration and phosphorylation, revealed a significant decrease in fAβ- and H2O2-injected brains, as compared to controls (). However, a significant improvement in the RCR was observed in animals treated with melatonin ().
