BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SKELETAL MUSCLE MITOCHONDRIA .I. MICROANALYSIS OF CYTOCHROME CONTENT OXIDATIVE AND PHOSPHORYLATIVE ACTIVITIES OF MAMMALIAN SKELETAL MUSCLE MITOCHONDRIA

Small-scale preparative and microassay techniques are described, requiring only 3-5 g of tissue to characterize mitochondrial metabolism of skeletal muscle. Mitochondria were isolated with the use of B. subtilis proteinase and mechanical disintegration of tissue cells followed by differential centrifugation. The cytochrome content was determined spectrophotometrically at the temperature of liquid N2. Oxidative and phosphorylative capacities, respiratory control, and cation accumulation were determined polarographically. A comparative analysis of mitochondria of human, canine, and rat skeletal muscle with respect to the cytochrome content and various respiratory parameters was presented. © 1968.