Organisation of mitochondria in living sensory neurons

In this work, we have examined the mitochondrial organisation in living cultured primary dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Confocal microscopy and the mitochondrial potential-sensitive fluorescent dye 5,5',6,6'-tetrachloro-1,1',3,3'-tetraethylbenzimidazolo carbocyanine iodide (JC-1) were used to visualise intracellular structures with a high and low membrane potential. Three-dimensional reconstruction revealed a mitochondrial organisation featuring separate highly polarised mitochondria, clusters of mitochondria located mainly at the base of neurite hillocks and filamentous mitochondrial structures. Filamentous mitochondria were distributed along the cell body, especially between neurites, A functional integration between mitochondrial structures is proposed. (C) 1999 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.