Response to the letter to the editor : mitochondria isolated from the striatum of the brain exhibit a higher degree of oxidative phosphorylation coupling, which shows that they are not subject to energetic dysfunction upon acute paraquat administration

Abstract

In response to criticisms raised by Professor Rendon regarding our original study “Impairment of striatal mitochondrial function by acute paraquat poisoning” (J Bioenerg Biomembr 47:395–408, 2015), we re-evaluated key methodological aspects and data interpretation. Oxygen consumption rates were measured in the absence and presence of KCN (1.3 mM) and diphenyleneiodonium (DPI, 1 µM) to discriminate KCN-sensitive respiration from paraquat redox cycling. Paraquat inhibited state 4 and state 3 KCN-sensitive respiration by 80% and 62%, respectively, while DPI-sensitive oxygen uptake increased 2.2- to 2.3-fold, confirming both respiratory-chain inhibition and redox-cycling contributions. Respiratory control ratios were deliberately omitted for KCN-sensitive data, as they do not accurately reflect mitochondrial viability under these conditions; instead, direct analysis of metabolic states 4 and 3 revealed clear bioenergetic impairment. Submitochondrial membrane preparations were tested for vesicle formation using FCCP (4 µM); no stimulation of NADH-cytochrome c reductase, succinate-cytochrome c reductase, or cytochrome oxidase activities occurred, and paraquat-induced inhibition (27% in complex I–III and 19% in complex IV) persisted unchanged. Rotenone (3 µM) inhibited NADH-cytochrome c reductase by ~80% in both control and paraquat samples, confirming that measured activity was predominantly rotenone-sensitive complex I–III (32% inhibition by paraquat). These additional controls validate our original methodology and support the conclusion that acute paraquat poisoning impairs striatal mitochondrial bioenergetics through direct respiratory-chain inhibition and increased free-radical production.