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Updated: Feb 5, 2026
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Analyses of Mitochondrial Calcium Influx in Isolated Mitochondria and Cultured Cells
Published on: April 27, 2018
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A simple and efficient toolset for analysing mitochondrial trafficking in neuronal cells
Victor A Shahen1, Laurence C Cantrill2, Nasim Bahram Sangani3
1Genetic Metabolic Disorders Research Unit, Western Sydney Genetics Program, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Talented Student Program, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Acta Histochemica
|September 19, 2018
Summary
Mitochondrial trafficking in neurons is vital for energy supply. A new free tool, MiTrakD, enables accurate, automated analysis of mitochondrial movement and distribution in neuronal cells.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Mitochondria are essential for neuronal energy production, supplying up to 90% of energy needs.
- Proper mitochondrial localization within neurons is critical for function, relying on an intricate transport system.
- Dysfunctional mitochondrial trafficking is implicated in various neurological disorders, highlighting the need for quantitative analysis tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel, free, and user-friendly analysis toolset for quantifying mitochondrial trafficking and distribution in neurons.
- To address the lack of automated solutions in existing commercial software for mitochondrial transport analysis.
- To provide a reliable method for assessing mitochondrial velocity, abundance, localization, and travel distance.
Main Methods:
- Development of the Mitochondrial Trafficking and Distribution (MiTrakD) analysis toolset.
- Utilizing existing Fiji (ImageJ) tools for semi-automated analysis of time-lapse microscopy data.
- Application of MiTrakD to analyze mitochondrial trafficking in cultured cortical neurons from wild-type mice at different in vitro developmental stages (DIV6, DIV10, DIV14).
Main Results:
- MiTrakD demonstrated efficiency and accuracy in analyzing mitochondrial trafficking and distribution.
- Neurons consistently showed the same percentage of mobile mitochondria, all traveling equidistantly across developmental stages.
- Mitochondria exhibited greater abundance and faster velocities at DIV10 compared to DIV6 and DIV14.
Conclusions:
- MiTrakD is a reliable and efficient tool for analyzing mitochondrial trafficking and distribution in neuronal cells.
- The developed toolset surpasses manual analysis in efficiency and accuracy.
- Findings provide insights into developmental changes in mitochondrial dynamics within neurons.
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