title: Human skeletal muscle mitochondria in aging: lack of detectable morphological and enzymic defects.
abstract: We have investigated structural and functional properties of skeletal muscle mitochondria obtained from biopsies from young and old individuals. The morphometric analysis of muscle sections revealed a tendency to an increase of total area, numerical density and volume density of mitochondria in the aged. The enzymatic activities of NADH-Coenzyme Q reductase, succinate cytochrome c reductase, ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase exhibited a high variability of specific activities without any correlation with age. Expression of the values as enzyme turnovers reduced the variability but was unable to reveal any age-dependent modification.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Morfologia Umana Normale, Università di Ancona.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zucchini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pugnaloni
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pallotti
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Solmi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Crimi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castaldini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Biagini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lenaz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D042967:Electron Transport Complex I; D014450:Electron Transport Complex III / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008931:Mitochondria, Muscle / Q000201:enzymology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009247:NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases / Q000032:analysis*; D013384:Succinate Cytochrome c Oxidoreductase / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D013384:Succinate Cytochrome c Oxidoreductase; D009247:NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases; D042967:Electron Transport Complex I; D014450:Electron Transport Complex III