Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2025

Simultaneous Measurement of Mitochondrial Calcium and Mitochondrial Membrane Potential in Live Cells by Fluorescent Microscopy
Published on: January 24, 2017
A brown fat-selective mechanism of mitochondrial calcium import?
Janane F Rahbani1, Lawrence Kazak2
1Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1A3, Canada.
Abstract:
In this issue of Cell Metabolism, Xue et al. propose that the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) binds uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) via the MCU regulator (EMRE) to form a protein complex that the authors term the "thermoporter." Through gain- and loss-of-function experiments, the authors infer that the thermoporter promotes calcium influx into the mitochondrial matrix to enhance NADH production, which supports thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT).
Related Concept Videos
Translocation of Proteins into the Mitochondria
Sorting of outer membrane proteins:
Mitochondrial outer membrane proteins are of two types: the transmembrane, beta-barrel porins, and the membrane-anchored, alpha-helical proteins. Beta-barrel porin precursors are translocated by the TOM complex and inserted into the outer mitochondrial membrane by the SAM complex. In contrast,...
Mitochondrial Precursor Proteins
Most of the mitochondrial...
Protein Transport into the Inner Mitochondrial Membrane
Transport of mitochondrial precursors across the TIM23 channel is driven by...
Mitochondrial Protein Sorting
Most of these mitochondrial proteins are encoded by the nucleus and imported to the mitochondria as unfolded or loosely folded precursors. Mitochondrial precursors...
Porin Insertion in the Outer Mitochondrial Membrane
Three models describe the assembly of porins by the SAM complex and their insertion into the outer membrane. Model 1 suggests that porins are assembled outside the SAM channel as the...
Energy to Drive Translocation
Generally, polypeptides are unfolded by two distinct...

