Effect of Temperature on the Behavior of Rat‐Liver Mitochondria during Centrifugation in a Sucrose Gradient

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We have investigated the effect of the temperature of centrifugation on the behavior of ratliver mitochondria during isopycnic centrifugation in a sucrose gradient. From the distribution curves of the reference enzymes, it may be deduced that the damaging effect of high‐speed centrifugation on mitochondria can be prevented by increasing the temperature of centrifugation. The results of the morphological examinations are in good agreement with the biochemical determinations. As previously described Wattiaux et al. (1971) the hydrostatic pressure generated by centrifugation is the main causal agent of the deterioration of mitochondria. The effect of temperature suggests that the pressure acts either on the physical state of the mitochondrial membrane lipids or by disrupting hydrophobic bonds essential for the mitochondrial membrane stability. From a practical point of view, our results show that it is possible to prevent the damaging effects of centrifugation on rat‐liver mitochondria by adjusting the temperature.