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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Analyzing Mitochondrial Transport and Morphology in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neurons in Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia
Published on: February 9, 2020
Stochastically determined directed movement explains the dominant small-scale mitochondrial movements within
Christopher D Saunter1, Ming Der Perng, Gordon D Love
1Biophysical Sciences Institute, Department of Physics, South Road, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.
Abstract:
The apparently stationary phase of mitochondrial motion was investigated in epithelial cells by spinning disk confocal light microscopy combined with image correlation based single particle tracking using custom software producing sub-pixel accuracy measurements (approximately 5 nm) at 10-12 Hz frame-rates. The analysis of these data suggests that the previously described stationary, or anchored phase, in mitochondrial movement actually comprise Brownian diffusion, interspersed with frequent and brief motor-driven events whose duration are stochastically determined. We have therefore discovered a new aspect of mitochondrial behavior, which we call stochastically determined, directed movement.
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