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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Using Isolated Mitochondria from Minimal Quantities of Mouse Skeletal Muscle for High throughput Microplate Respiratory Measurements
Published on: October 30, 2015
A scalable plate reader-based protocol to measure mitochondrial respiration in embryonic hearts
Chiemela Ohanele1, Jennifer Q Kwong2
1Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology, Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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Mitochondrial function is central to embryonic development, yet its assessment in the embryonic heart is hampered by limited tissue availability. Here, we present a protocol to measure mitochondrial oxygen consumption rates directly from embryonic mouse hearts using a fluorescence-based plate reader assay. We describe steps for heart isolation, plate setup, and acquisition of signal profiles. We then detail procedures for normalization and rate conversion. This protocol enables real-time readings with a low input requirement of one heart.
