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Membrane Potentials And Resistances Of Giant Mitochondria: Metabolic Dependence And The Effects Of Valinomycin, Bruce L. Maloff, Stylianos P. Scordilis, Christopher Reynolds, Henry Tedeschi

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The membrane potentials and resistances of giant mitochondria from mice fed cuprizone have been studied. They were found to correspond approx. 10-20 mV, positive inside, and 2 M omega, respectively. These properties were found to be independent of the metabolic state. The microelectrodes were in the inner mitochondrial space since (a) the potentials in the presence of valinomycin depended on the K+ concentration of the medium and magnitude of the K+ diffusion potentials was consistent with the presence of a high internal concentration of K+, (b) almost identical results were obtained with mitochondria from which the external membrane had been …