Cell-based measurements of mitochondrial function in human subjects.

There is growing evidence in the basic science field that aberrant metabolism plays an important role in tumorigenesis. Therefore, it is imperative to perform investigations in human subjects to determine (1) whether the metabolic observations made in model systems are applicable to humans; and (2) if indeed applicable, whether the metabolic alterations are clinically significant for cancer development. As an initial step, here we describe methods for measuring the mitochondrial metabolism of blood lymphocytes and skeletal muscle myoblasts that can be obtained from human subjects.