Evaluation of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and oxidative phosphorylation system using blue native gel electrophoresis.

The oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system consists of five multimeric complexes embedded in the mitochondrial inner membrane. They work in concert to drive the aerobic synthesis of ATP. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA mutations affecting the accumulation and function of these enzymes are the most common cause of mitochondrial diseases and have also been associated with neurodegeneration and aging. For this reason, several approaches for the assessment of the OXPHOS system enzymes have been progressively developed. Based on methods described elsewhere, the use of blue native gel electrophoresis (BNGE) techniques to routinely assess the OXPHOS system and screen for enzymatic defects in homogenates or mitochondrial preparations from tissues or cultured cells is described here.