TITLE:
Mitochondrial/Nuclear Superstructures Drive Morphological Changes in Endometrial Epithelia by Pressure Exerted when Gas Vacuoles Form and Coalesce within Superstructures
AUTHORS:
Honoree Fleming
KEYWORDS:
Mitochondrial, Nuclear Superstructures
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Vol.9 No.5,
May
31,
2018
ABSTRACT: Mitochondria,
usually ovoid structures no larger than 0.5 microns can fuse into structures that are 5 microns and larger such as nebenkern, spheroidal or
cup-shaped mitochondria, and even mega-mitochondria. In studying differentiation
of human endometrial epithelial cells, it became clear that formation of
mitochondrial superstructures was an essential part of the process. In this
paper, the origins, function, and demise of these superstructures called
mitonucleons are described.
In the course of reading papers about mitochondrial superstructures, it became
obvious that there are important similarities, particularly with regard to
function, between the mitonucleon and the nebenkern, a
superstructure essential for dramatic tail elongation during spermatogenesis in
grasshoppers, drosophila, and other insects. Close inspection of
photomicrographs of differentiating mitonucleons during the first 12 hours
suggests that gases build up in
vacuoles within the mitochondrial superstructure creating pressure that
elevates syncytial membranes and compresses nuclear aggregates contained within
the mitonucleon.