STUDY OF ULTRASTRUCTURAL

PATHOLOGY OF MITOCHONDRIA AND

CHANGES IN CELL BIOENERGETICS
(ELECTRONOGRAMS)

Zhexenbin Shynggys BB-1908

In the subject: Pathology of cells
Before we talk about Studying the ultrastructural pathology of
mitochondria and changes in cellular bioenergetics, the mitochondria is
a spherical or ellipsoid organelle with a diameter of usually about 1
micrometer. It is characteristic of most eukaryotic cells, both autotrophs
(photosynthetic plants) and heterotrophs (fungi, animals). The energy
station of the cell; the main function is the oxidation of organic
compounds and the use of energy released during their decay to
generate electrical potential, ATP synthesis and thermogenesis. These
three processes are carried out due to the movement of electrons along
the electron transport chain of proteins of the inner membrane. The
number of mitochondria in the cells of various organisms differs
significantly for example, unicellular green algae (euglena, chlorella,
polytomella) and trypanosomes have only one giant mitochondria,
whereas the oocyte and amoeba contain 300,000 and 500,000
mitochondria, respectively; intestinal anaerobic entamoeba and some
other parasitic protozoa have no mitochondria. Specialized cells of
animal organs contain hundreds and even thousands of mitochondria
(brain, heart, muscles).
 An alternative definition of mitochondrial pathology
states that it is an extensive group of pathological
conditions caused by genetic, structural and biochemical
defects of mitochondria, impaired tissue respiration and,
as a consequence, insufficient energy metabolism.As A.
Munnich points out, "mitochondrial diseases can cause
any symptom, in any tissue, at any age, with any type of
inheritance" .Mitochondrial respiratory chains are the
main final pathway of aerobic metabolism. Therefore,
mitochondrial pathology is often called "diseases of the
mitochondrial respiratory chain" (BDCM); this is a
relatively new class of diseases.
Mitochondria were first discovered as granules in muscle cells in
1850. The number of mitochondria in a cell is not constant. There
are especially many of them in cells in which the need for oxygen is
high. According to their structure, they are cylindrical organelles
found in the eukaryotic cell in the amount of several hundred to 1-2
thousand and occupying 10-20% of its internal volume. The size
(from 1 to 70 microns) and the shape of mitochondria also vary
greatly. At the same time, the width of these organelles is relatively
constant (0.5-1 microns). Able to change shape. Depending on which
parts of the cell at any given moment there is an increased energy
consumption, mitochondria are able to move through the cytoplasm
to the areas of greatest energy consumption, using the structures of
the cytoskeleton of the eukaryotic cell for movement.
When studying the ultrastructural pathology of mitochondria, it can be understood
that the number of mitochondria in a cell is not constant. There are especially
many of them in cells that have a great need for energy. By their structure,
mitochondria are organelles, usually spherical in shape, found in a eukaryotic cell
in the amount of several hundred to 1-2 thousand and occupying 10-20% of its
internal volume. The size (from 1 to 70 microns) and the shape of mitochondria
also vary greatly. Depending on which areas of the cell at any given time there is
an increased energy consumption, mitochondria are able to move through the
cytoplasm to the areas of the greatest energy consumption, using the structures of
the cytoskeleton of the eukaryotic cell for movement. There are three types of
mitochondrial organelles in plant and animal cells simultaneously and in
approximately equal quantities: young protomitochondria, mature mitochondria
and old postmitochondria that degrade into lipofuscin granules.
An alternative to a multitude of disparate small mitochondria functioning
independently of each other and supplying ATP to small areas of the
cytoplasm is the existence of long and branched mitochondria, each of
which can energetically provide distant parts of the cell (for example, in
unicellular green algae Chlorella). A variant of such an extended system can
also be an ordered spatial union of a multitude of mitochondria (chondriome
or mitochondrion), ensuring their cooperative work and occurring in both
unicellular and multicellular organisms. This type of chondriome is
especially complicated in mammalian skeletal muscles, where groups of
giant branched mitochondria are connected to each other using
intermitochondrial contacts (MMCs). The latter are formed by tightly
adjacent outer mitochondrial membranes, as a result of which the
intermembrane space in this zone has an increased electron density. MMCs
are especially abundant in cardiac muscle cells, where they bind multiple
individual mitochondria into a coherent, working cooperative system.
Ultrastructural membrane The outer membrane of the mitochondria
has a thickness of about 7 nm, does not form indentations and folds
and is closed to itself. The outer membrane accounts for about 7%
of the surface area of all cell organelle membranes. The main
function is to separate the mitochondria from the cytoplasm. The
outer membrane of the mitochondria consists of lipids interspersed
with proteins. Porin - channel-forming protein plays a special role.
It forms holes in the outer membrane with a diameter of 2-3 nm,
through which small molecules and ions weighing up to 5 kDa can
penetrate. Large molecules can penetrate through the outer
membrane only through active transport with the help of transport
proteins of mitochondrial membranes. The outer membrane is
characterized by the presence of enzymes: monooxygenase, acyl-
CoA synthetase and phospholipase A2. The outer membrane of the
mitochondria can interact with the membrane of the endoplasmic
reticulum; this plays an important role in the transport of lipids and
calcium ions
The functional state of biological life is usually determined by the level of its energization. It can
be considered that the most "ancient" mechanism of energization of complex organic structures
was hysteresis, i.e. the ability to quickly and efficiently "absorb" thermal energy and slowly give
it away. The whole further system of active energization of biological life forms was "created" by
nature based on the use of energy-rich organic structures, an example of the simplest of them is
glycolysis. The processes of glycolysis and photosynthesis are very close, they are usually
realized in the cytoplasm of cells and always end with the formation of adenosine triphosphate
(ATP). This organic product (ATP) is the only and universal source of energization of all forms of
biological cells, which allows us to judge the genetic unity of all forms of biological life.
 References

1. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep30610
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18435594/
3. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/15/8194/htm
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9896/
5. https://www.mrc-mbu.cam.ac.uk/what-are-mitochondria