Talk:Larsen 2011 Cell Metab

MiPNet Reference Laboratory of the week - Feb 2012

Beneficial effects are known of a high intake of fruit and vegetables for the protection against major disorders such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes 2. This study confirms the general concept, highlighting the central role played by mitochondria. They could show that nitrate, a simple inorganic anion abundant in our everyday diet, has profound effects on basal human mitochondrial function as well as whole-body oxygen consumption during exercise.

In the experimental set-up skeletal muscle mitochondria harvested after nitrate supplementation displayed an improvement in oxidative phosphorylation efficiency (P/O ratio) and a decrease in state 4 respiration with and without atractyloside and respiration without adenylates. The improved mitochondrial P/O ratio correlated to the reduction in oxygen cost during exercise. Mechanistically they explain that nitrate reduced the expression of ATP/ADP translocase, a protein involved in proton conductance.

Barbara Meissner - 2012-02-27