Isolation of Mitochondria from Mouse Skeletal Muscle for Respirometric Assays

Summary

Here, we describe a detailed method for mitochondria isolation from mouse skeletal muscle and the subsequent analysis of respiration by Oxygen Consumption Rate (OCR) using microplate-based respirometric assays. This pipeline can be applied to study the effects of multiple environmental or genetic interventions on mitochondrial metabolism.

Abstract

Most of the cell's energy is obtained through the degradation of glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids by different pathways that converge on the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system, which is regulated in response to cellular demands. The lipid molecule Coenzyme Q (CoQ) is essential in this process by transferring electrons to complex III in the electron transport chain (ETC) through constant oxidation/reduction cycles. Mitochondria status and, ultimately, cellular health can be assessed by measuring ETC oxygen consumption using respirometric assays. These studies are typically performed in established or primary cell lines that have been cultured for several days. In both cases, the respiration parameters obtained may have deviated from normal physiological conditions in any given organ or tissue.

Additionally, the intrinsic characteristics of cultured single fibers isolated from skeletal muscle impede this type of analysis. This paper presents an updated and detailed protocol for the analysis of respiration in freshly isolated mitochondria from mouse skeletal muscle. We also provide solutions to potential problems that could arise at any step of the process. The method presented here could be applied to compare oxygen consumption rates in diverse transgenic mouse models and study the mitochondrial response to drug treatments or other factors such as aging or sex. This is a feasible method to respond to crucial questions about mitochondrial bioenergetics metabolism and regulation.

Introduction

Mitochondria are the primary metabolic organelles in the cell¹. These specialized membrane-enclosed organelles use nutrient molecules to produce energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by OXPHOS. This process relies on the transfer of electrons from donor molecules in a series of redox reactions in the ETC². CoQ is the only redox-active lipid that is endogenously produced in all cellular membranes and circulating lipoproteins that shows antioxidant function³. It is an essential component of the ETC, transferring electrons from NADH-dependent complex I and FADH₂-dependent comp....

Protocol

Mouse housing and tissue collection were performed using protocols approved by the Universidad Pablo de Olavide Ethics Committee (Sevilla, Spain; protocols 24/04/2018/056 and 12/03/2021/033) in accordance with Spanish Royal Decree 53/2013, European Directive 2010/63/EU, and other relevant guidelines.

1. Preparation of stocks, buffers, and reagents for the respiration assays

1. Prepare the following stock solutions, which can be stored at the indicated temperature for months. Use ultrapure H₂O in all cases.
   1. Dissolve phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) tablets in H₂O (1 tablet per 200 mL....

Results

The protocol presented here allows the in vivo analysis of mitochondrial respiration through the isolation of mitochondria from mouse skeletal muscle. An outline of the method is shown in Figure 1. After dissecting skeletal muscles from the hindlimbs (Figure 2), tissues are homogenized and mitochondria purified, under isotonic conditions, through serial centrifugations. The purity of the different fractions obtained during the isolation process can be a.......

Discussion

All methods used to study mitochondrial respiration have their limitations; hence, it is crucial to select the method that best suits a specific experimental question. This work provides an updated and detailed protocol to isolate mitochondria from mouse skeletal muscle to perform different respiratory assays to investigate mitochondrial function. Indeed, the study of mitochondrial bioenergetics in isolated mitochondria using microplate-based technologies is valuable to study tissue-specific respiration in terms of repro.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
ADP	Sigma	A5285	Stock at -20 °C
AKT antibody	Cell Signaling Technology	C67E7	Rabbit (Host species)
anti-Goat HRP	Sigma	401504	Rabbit (Host species)
anti-Mouse HRP	Cell Signaling	#7076	Horse (Host species)
Antimycin A	Sigma	A8674	Stock at -20 °C
anti-Rabbit HRP	Cell Signaling	#7074	Goat (Host species)
Ascorbic acid	Sigma	A5960	Stock at RT
Bactin antibody	Sigma	MBS4-48085	Goat (Host species)
Bio-Rad Protein Assay Kit II	Bio-Rad	5000002	It includes 5x Bradford reagent and BSA of known concentration for the standard curve
BSA, fraction V, Fatty Acid-Free	Calbiochem	126575	Stock at 4 °C
C tube	Miltenyi Biotec	130-093-237	Purple lid
Calnexin antibody	ThermoFisher	MA3-027	Mouse (Host species)
D-mannitol	Sigma	M4125	Stock at RT
EDTA	BDH	280254D	Stock at 4 °C
EGTA	Sigma	E-4378	Stock at RT
FCCP	Sigma	C2920	Stock at -20 °C
gentleMACS Dissociator	Miltenyi Biotec	130-093-235	Homogenizer
HEPES	Sigma	H3375	Stock at RT
HSP70 antibody	Proteintech	10995-1-AP	Rabbit (Host species)
LDH-A antibody	Santa Cruz Biotechnology	SC27230	Goat (Host species)
Magnesium chloride	ChemCruz	sc-255260A	Stock at RT
Malic acid	Sigma	P1645	Stock at RT
Microplate spectrophotometer	BMG LABTECH GmbH	POLARstar OMEGA S/N 415-0292	Stock at RT
Milli-Q water	Millipore system	F7HA17757A	Ultrapure water
mtTFA antibody	Santa Cruz Biotechnology	SC23588	Goat (Host species)
Na+/K+-ATPase α1 antibody	Novus Biologicals	NB300-14755	Mouse (Host species)
Oligomycin	Sigma	O4876	Stock at -20 °C
Palmitoyl-L-carnitine	Sigma	P1645	Stock at -20 °C
PBS tablets	Sigma	P4417-100TAB	1x stock at RT
Potassium dihydrogen phosphate	ChemCruz	sc-203211	Stock at RT
Potassium hydroxide	Sigma	60377	Stock at RT
Pyruvic acid	Sigma	107360	Stock at 4 °C
Rotenone	Sigma	R8875	Stock at -20 °C
Seahorse XF24 mitochondrial flux analyzer	Agilent Technologies	420179	XFe24 model
Seahorse XFe24 FluxPak mini	Agilent Technologies	102342-100	The kit includes cartridges, microplates, and calibrant solution
Succinate	Sigma	S7626	Stock at RT
Sucrose	Sigma	S9378	Stock at RT
TIMM23 antibody	Abcam	ab230253	Rabbit (Host species)
TMPD	Sigma	T7394	Stock at -20 °C
TOMM20 antibody	Abcam	ab56783	Mouse (Host species)
VDAC antibody	Abcam	ab15895	Rabbit (Host species)