Modelling cell substrate conditions in culture

Mitochondria and mitochondrial impairment are becoming increasingly important research areas in numerous disease types and also in the etiology of drug-induced toxicity. Mitochondria produce >90% of the cellular energy requirements in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) via oxidative phosphorylation but in diseases like cancer we often see a shift in how the cells meet their ATP needs. The metabolism of a cell is directly affected by the environment it is grown in and this is an area of particular importance to our research group. We are working towards adopting more physiological cell culture practices in which to conduct our mitochondrial studies.

We have a range of tools and instruments at our disposal in order to assess mitochondrial function. The workhorse instruments in our lab include:

• BMG OMEGA and CLARIOstar plate readers that allow us to evaluate cellular bioenergetics using the Agilent MitoXpress Xtra, pH-Xtra and MitoXpress Intra metabolism probes. The advanced plate reading capabilities of these instruments allow for the evaluation of other key parameters such as mitochondrial membrane potential and ROS generation. Many of these protocols are suitable to multi or paraplexing allowing a higher throughput data rich assessment of our experimental conditions.

The InCell 1000 analyser adds to our comprehensive suite of assay capabilities allowing a closer evaluation of mitochondrial health and morphology.