Mitochondria protecting amino acids: Application against a wide range of mitochondria-linked complications

Publication date: December 2018Source: PharmaNutrition, Volume 6, Issue 4Author(s): Reza Heidari, Vahid Ghanbarinejad, Mohammad Mehdi Ommati, Akram Jamshidzadeh, Hossein NiknahadAbstractMitochondria are cellular power plants which any defect in their proper function might lead to deleterious consequences. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been identified as a pivotal mechanism involved in the pathogenesis of xenobiotics-induced toxicity as well as in the etiology of several diseases. In this context, protecting mitochondria could play a crucial role in the development of therapeutic strategies against a wide range of clinical complications. The current study was designed to examine the direct effects of some amino acids with previously-reported cytoprotective background on cellular mitochondria. Isolated mitochondria were incubated with taurine, proline, histidine, glycine, and betaine and several mitochondrial indices including mitochondrial depolarization, swelling and permeabilization, dehydrogenases activity, and ATP content were monitored. Calcium (Ca2+; 200 μM) was used as the stressor. It was found that the investigated amino acids significantly preserved mitochondrial function in a Ca2+ overloaded environment as revealed by significantly higher mitochondrial membrane potential, dehydrogenases activity, and ATP content in amino acid-treated groups. Moreover, mitochondrial swelling and permeabilization were significantly blunted after amino acid treatment. The data obtaine...
Source: PharmaNutrition - Category: Nutrition Source Type: research