Figure 2: Mitochondrial cristae are more abundant and coordinate at IMJs.
From: Trans-mitochondrial coordination of cristae at regulated membrane junctions
(a,b) Three-dimensional tomographic reconstruction used to quantify cristae abundance at mito–mito (green) and mito–myofibrils (MF, blue) contacts. L, lipid droplet, (mean±s.e.m., paired T-test, n=510 cristae from four complete tomograms). (c,c′) Cardiomyocyte mitochondria with cristae exhibiting a high degree of trans-mitochondrial alignment. (d) Pairs of mitochondria analyzed for degree of cristae alignment at IMJs and non-electron-dense contacts (non-IMJ) showing preferential alignment at IMJs. (mean±s.e.m., χ2, n=83–151 pairs per group). (e) ‘Fingerprint’ electron micrograph of mouse heart cardiomyocyte mitochondria processed to outline cristae, illustrating representative events of mitochondrial alignment at electron-dense junction sites (IMJ, red arrow), and non-alignment at non-electron-dense contacts (non-IMJ, yellow arrow). (f) Quantification of incident angles between mitochondria joined by IMJ or non-IMJ. IMJ inter-mitochondrial cristae angles exhibit less variability and closer to exact orientation (angle of 0°) than non-IMJ. Med, median.
