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Oxygen Transport to Tissue XXXI pp 7–25Cite as

Cell Respiration Under Hypoxia: Facts and Artefacts in Mitochondrial Oxygen Kinetics

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 662))

Abstract

When oxygen supply to tissues is limiting, mitochondrial respiration and ATP production are compromised. To assess the bioenergetic consequences under normoxia and hypoxia, quantitative evaluation of mitochondrial oxygen kinetics is required. Using high-resolution respirometry, the “apparent K m” for oxygen or p 50 of respiration in 32D cells was determined at 0.05 ± 0.01 kPa (0.4 mmHg, 0.5 μM, 0.25% air saturation). Close agreement with p 50 of isolated mitochondria indicates that intracellular gradients are small in small cells at routine activity. At intracellular p O2 <2 kPa (15 mmHg, 10% air saturation) in various tissues under normoxia, respiration is limited by >2% with a p 50 of 0.05 kPa. Over-estimation of p 50 at 0.4 kPa (3 mmHg) would imply significant (>17%) oxygen limitation of respiration under intracellular normoxia. Based on a critical review, we conclude that p 50 ranges from 0.01 to 0.10 kPa in mitochondria and small cells in the absence of inhibitors of cytochrome c oxidase, whereas experimental artefacts explain the controversial >200-fold range of p 50 in the literature on mitochondrial oxygen kinetics.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Dr. Jakob Troppmair for providing the 32D and 32D-vRAF cell lines.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General and Transplant Surgery, D. Swarovski Research Laboratory, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Francesca M. Scandurra

  2. D. Swarovski Research Laboratory, Department of General and Transplant Surgery, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Erich Gnaiger

  3. OROBOROS INSTRUMENTS, Innsbruck, Austria

    Erich Gnaiger

Authors
  1. Francesca M. Scandurra
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  2. Erich Gnaiger
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Correspondence to Erich Gnaiger .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Yamagata University, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan

    Eiji Takahashi

  2. Westminster Rd 2773, Ellicott City, 21043, U.S.A.

    Duane F. Bruley

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Scandurra, F.M., Gnaiger, E. (2010). Cell Respiration Under Hypoxia: Facts and Artefacts in Mitochondrial Oxygen Kinetics. In: Takahashi, E., Bruley, D. (eds) Oxygen Transport to Tissue XXXI. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 662. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1241-1_2

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