Event Abstract Back to Event Examination of mitochondrial health in the basigin null mouse retina Judith D. Ochrietor1 and Kristine-Anne Pablo1* 1 University of North Florida, Biology Dep, United States Basigin null mice are blind from the time of eye opening, despite normal retina architecture at that age. At eight weeks of age, photoreceptor degeneration begins and proceeds until the entire photoreceptor layer is ablated. Basigin gene products are members of the immunoglobulin superfamily found in the retina that are known to interact with the lactate transporter monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1). MCT1 protein expression does not localize correctly in the absence of Basigin gene products and therefore function is inhibited. It has been proposed that lactate transport and utilization are essential for photoreceptor maturation and function and that faulty lactate metabolism underlies blindness in Basigin null mice. The purpose of this study was to assess the metabolic integrity of mitochondria in the retinas of Basigin null mice. An ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Imunosorbant Assay) was performed to determine the levels of cytochrome C in retina cell extracts from Basigin null mice and littermate controls at visual maturity (three weeks of age) and at three months. It was determined that the concentration of cytochrome C was significantly lower in Basigin null mice compared to controls at both of the ages tested. The low cytochrome C concentrations observed in Basigin null mouse retinas may be due to the sequestration and degradation of cytochrome C or the whole mitochondria. We propose that the sequestration of mitochondria in Basigin null mouse retinas occurs due to autophagy, a degradation pathway for damaged organelles that is induced by cellular stress during neurodegenerative diseases. Future studies are aimed at examining mitochondrial activity and autophagy in the Basigin null mouse retina. Conference: 2010 South East Nerve Net (SENN) and Georgia/South Carolina Neuroscience Consortium (GASCNC) conferences, Atlanta , United States, 5 Mar - 7 Mar, 2010. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Posters Citation: Ochrietor JD and Pablo K (2010). Examination of mitochondrial health in the basigin null mouse retina. Front. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: 2010 South East Nerve Net (SENN) and Georgia/South Carolina Neuroscience Consortium (GASCNC) conferences. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.04.00069 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 17 Mar 2010; Published Online: 17 Mar 2010. * Correspondence: Kristine-Anne Pablo, University of North Florida, Biology Dep, Jacksonville, United States, a.pablo@unf.edu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Judith D Ochrietor Kristine-Anne Pablo Google Judith D Ochrietor Kristine-Anne Pablo Google Scholar Judith D Ochrietor Kristine-Anne Pablo PubMed Judith D Ochrietor Kristine-Anne Pablo Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.