Morphology of mitochondria in spatially restricted axons revealed by cryo-electron tomography.

ABSTRACT: Neurons project axons to local and distal sites and can display heterogeneous morphologies with limited physical dimensions that may influence the structure of large organelles such as mitochondria. Using cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET), we characterized native environments within axons and presynaptic varicosities to examine whether spatial restrictions within these compartments influence the morphology of mitochondria. Segmented tomographic reconstructions revealed distinctive morphological characteristics of mitochondria residing at the narrowed boundary between presynaptic varicosities and axons with limited physical dimensions (approximately 80 nm), compared to mitochondria in nonspatially restricted environments. Furthermore, segmentation of the tomograms revealed discrete organiz

SUBMITTER: Fischer TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6160218 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature