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Updated: Jan 8, 2026

Assessment of Open Probability of the Mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore in the Setting of Coenzyme Q Excess
Published on: June 1, 2022
The Mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore: Past, Present, and Future
Michela Carraro1, Christoph Gerle2, Paolo Bernardi1
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy; email: michela.carraro@unipd.it, paolo.bernardi@unipd.it.
Abstract:
The mitochondrial permeability transition (PT) is a Ca2+-dependent permeability increase of the inner mitochondrial membrane mediated by opening of a high-conductance channel, the PT pore. Its molecular nature has been the subject of intense research and the source of controversies, but a considerable consensus has been reached that the PT originates from specific conformations of the FOF1-ATP synthase and of the adenine nucleotide translocator. The ATP synthase forms high-conductance channels in mammals and yeast but not in the anoxia- and salt-tolerant brine shrimp Artemia franciscana, which is refractory to the PT; it forms low-conductance and Ca2+-selective channels in Drosophila melanogaster, which undergoes a process of Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release but not a PT. The structural definition of ATP synthases from several species may allow for some inferences to be made about the mechanism of channel formation, or lack thereof, and provides a testable framework for future research.
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