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Detection of mitochondrial defects by laser fluorimetry

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Abstract

The mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle biopsies of three patients with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, having deletions of the mitochondrial DNA, was studied by laser-excited fluorescence measurements of NAD(P)H and flavoproteins in saponin-skinned fibers. We detected substantially elevated steady state redox states of the mitochondrial NAD-system in the muscle fibers of these patients. Moreover, the respiratory chain-linked autofluorescence changes in the muscle fibers of these patients were larger in comparison to controls indicating substantial alterations of the mitochondrial content. These results are in line with the presence of elevated numbers of partially respiratory chain inhibited mitochondria in the skeletal muscle of chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia patients. (Mol Cell Biochem 174: 97–100, 1997)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurobiochemisches Labor der Klinik für Neurologie, Universitätsklinikum Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany

    Wolfram S. Kunz, Kirstin Winkler, Andrey V. Kuznetsov, Hartmut Lins & Claus W. Wallesch

  2. Institut für Neuropathologie, Universitätsklinikum Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany

    Elmar Kirches

Authors
  1. Wolfram S. Kunz
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  2. Kirstin Winkler
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  3. Andrey V. Kuznetsov
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  4. Hartmut Lins
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  5. Elmar Kirches
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  6. Claus W. Wallesch
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Kunz, W.S., Winkler, K., Kuznetsov, A.V. et al. Detection of mitochondrial defects by laser fluorimetry. Mol Cell Biochem 174, 97–100 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006886425019

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