Mitochondrial dysfunction, with an estimated incidence of 1 in 5,000 births, is associated with a wide variety of multisystem degenerative diseases. Among the most prevalent forms of dysfunction are defects in the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I). Caenorhabditis elegans strains with complex I mutations exhibit characteristic features of human mitochondrial disease including decreased ...

The mitochondrial rotenone-sensitive NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) comprises more than 30 subunits, the majority of which are encoded by the nucleus. In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, only five components of complex I are coded for by mitochondrial genes. Three mutants deprived of complex I activity and displaying slow growth in the dark were isolated after mutagenic treatment with acr...

Mitochondrial uncoupling protein-4 (UCP4) protects against Complex I deficiency as induced by 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP(+)), but how UCP4 affects mitochondrial function is unclear. Here we investigated how UCP4 affects mitochondrial bioenergetics in SH-SY5Y cells. Cells stably overexpressing UCP4 exhibited higher oxygen consumption (10.1%, p<0.01), with 20% greater proton leak than vecto...