Monitoring Mitochondrial Membrane Potential in Live Cells Using Time-Lapse Fluorescence Imaging

Gabriel Esteban Valdebenito; Michael R Duchen

doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-2309-1_22

Monitoring Mitochondrial Membrane Potential in Live Cells Using Time-Lapse Fluorescence Imaging

Methods Mol Biol. 2022:2497:319-324. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2309-1_22.

Authors

Gabriel Esteban Valdebenito¹, Michael R Duchen²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and Consortium for Mitochondrial Research, UCL, London, UK.
² Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and Consortium for Mitochondrial Research, UCL, London, UK. m.duchen@ucl.ac.uk.

PMID: 35771453
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2309-1_22

Abstract

The mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ_m) generated by proton pumps (Complexes I, III, and IV) is an essential component in the process of energy generation during oxidative phosphorylation. Tetramethylrhodamine, methyl ester, perchlorate (TMRM) is one of the most commonly used fluorescent reporters of ΔΨ_m. TMRM is routinely employed in a steady state for the measurement of membrane potential. However, it can also be utilized with time-lapse fluorescence imaging to effectively monitor the changes in membrane potential in response to a given stimulus by analyzing the change in distribution of the dye with time.

Keywords: Fluorescence microscopy; Mitochondria membrane potential; Primary skin fibroblasts; TMRM; Uncoupler.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cells, Cultured
Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial
Mitochondria* / metabolism
Optical Imaging*
Time-Lapse Imaging