Methods to Study Mitochondrial Function Using Small Tissue Samples

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editors

Gina Galli

University of Manchester

Dr. Gina Galli is a cardiovascular physiologist that is primarily interested in the effects of developmental hypoxia on the cardiovascular system of vertebrates. In 2006 she completed her PhD in comparative physiology at The University of Birmingham and subsequently worked as a postdoctoral research associate and fellow at Stanford University and The University of British Columbia. In 2011 she moved back to the UK where she is now an associate professor at the University of Manchester. Her laboratory is particularly interested in the effects of developmental hypoxia on heart cell structure, calcium regulation, and mitochondrial metabolism. They use of a range of techniques to study these properties, including; echocardiography, electrophysiology, confocal and epifluorescent microscopy, high-resolution microrespirometry (Oroboros), electron microscopy, spectrophotometric biochemical assays and epigenetic molecular analysis. These techniques allow them to take an integrative approach to study the effects of developmental hypoxia at numerous levels of biological organization from the whole animal down to the isolated cell, organelle, and gene. From a medical perspective, they hope to identify the mechanisms that cause cardiac disease in offspring from hypoxic pregnancies and develop therapies to prevent them. From an ecological perspective, they hope that their work on non-mammalian vertebrates will help to predict and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Kerri Smith

University of Manchester

Kerri Smith is a final year PhD student at the University of Manchester, UK, funded by the British Heart Foundation. She works under Dr Gina Galli in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, researching the effects of developmental hypoxia on cardiac mitochondria. Specifically, Kerri is researching the developmental programming of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, a key driver of ischemia-reperfusion injury. She started her PhD program in 2019, after completing a biochemistry degree at the University of Bath, UK, in 2018.

Collection Overview

Mitochondria are critical organelles for cellular function. Their roles in cellular metabolism, reactive oxygen species production, and programmed cell death are crucial for energy production and cellular signaling. Therefore, assessment of mitochondrial function is essential in many fields, including model characterization, disease research, and drug discovery. However, achieving sufficient mitochondrial yield to assess function from limited tissue or small samples can be challenging.

This collection will focus on methods for testing mitochondrial function from small tissue samples, such as zebrafish, organoids, and small animal organs. We invite researchers to submit video articles highlighting different methods used for mitochondrial isolation, mitochondrial function and morphology characterization, and strategies for assessing mitochondrial function within cells and tissue in small tissue samples.