In Vivo Tissue-wide Synchronization of Mitochondrial Metabolic Oscillations
Natalie Porat-Shliom,
Yun Chen,
Muhibullah Tora,
Akiko Shitara,
Andrius Masedunskas,
Roberto Weigert
Affiliations
Natalie Porat-Shliom
Intracellular Membrane Trafficking Unit, Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, 30 Convent Drive 303A, Bethesda, MD 20892-4340, USA
Yun Chen
Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive 6B17, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Muhibullah Tora
Intracellular Membrane Trafficking Unit, Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, 30 Convent Drive 303A, Bethesda, MD 20892-4340, USA
Akiko Shitara
Intracellular Membrane Trafficking Unit, Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, 30 Convent Drive 303A, Bethesda, MD 20892-4340, USA
Andrius Masedunskas
Intracellular Membrane Trafficking Unit, Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, 30 Convent Drive 303A, Bethesda, MD 20892-4340, USA
Roberto Weigert
Intracellular Membrane Trafficking Unit, Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, 30 Convent Drive 303A, Bethesda, MD 20892-4340, USA
Little is known about the spatiotemporal coordination of mitochondrial metabolism in multicellular organisms in situ. Using intravital microscopy in live animals, we report that mitochondrial metabolism undergoes rapid and periodic oscillations under basal conditions. Notably, mitochondria in vivo behave as a network of functionally coupled oscillators, which maintain a high level of coordination throughout the tissue via the activity of gap junctions. These findings reveal a unique aspect of the relationship between tissue architecture and self-organization of mitochondrial metabolism in vivo.
