The effect of age on mitochondrial ultrastructure

P. D. Wilson, L. M. Franks

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

65 Scopus citations

Abstract

The ultrastructure of perfused livers and that of the mitochondrial fractions from 6 month old and 30 month old C57/BL mice were studied. In old mice the liver cell mitochondria were enlarged and rounded with a light 'foamy', vacuolated matrix, short cristae and a loss of dense granules. Quantitative studies showed a 60% increase in the mean size and an increased proportion of larger mitochondria in intact 30 month old perfused livers. Endothelial and Kupffer cell mitochondria were smaller than those of the parenchymal cells. Mitochondria in pellets prepared from 6 and 30 month old livers were rounded and condensed, although there were a few larger and 'foamy' mitochondria in the preparations from old mice. Up to 47% of large mitochondria in the old livers were lost during cell fractionation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)81-94
Number of pages14
JournalGERONTOLOGIA
Volume21
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1975
Externally publishedYes

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