Oxidative activity in mitochondria isolated from rat liver at different stages of development

✍ Scribed by Susanna Iossa; Lillà Lionetti; Maria Pina Mollica; Antonio Barletta; Giovanna Liverini

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 146 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0263-6484
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0844(1998120)16:4<261::aid-cbf796>3.0.co;2-1

✦ Synopsis

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oxidative capacities in hepatic mitochondria isolated from prepubertal, young adult and adult rats (40, 90 and 180 days of age, respectively). In these rats, mitochondrial respiratory rates using FAD-and NAD-linked substrates as well as mitochondrial protein mass were measured. The results show that only the oxidative capacity of FAD-linked pathways signi®cantly declined in mitochondria from 180-day-old rats compared with those from younger animals. When we consider FAD-linked respiration expressed per g liver, no signi®cant dierence was found among rats of dierent ages because of an increased mitochondrial protein mass found in 180-day-old rats. However, when FAD-linked and lipid-dependent respiratory rates were expressed per 100 g body weight, signi®cant decreases occurred in 180-day-old rats. Therefore, the decrease in liver weight expressed per 100 g body weight rather than an impaired hepatic cellular activity may be the cause of body energy de®cit in 180-day-old rats.