Mitochondrial Oxygen Consumption by the Foreskin and its Fibroblast-rich Culture

Objectives: this study investigated the feasibility of using a phosphorescence oxygen analyser tomeasure cellular respiration (mitochondrial o2 consumption) in foreskin samples and their fibroblast-rich cultures. methods: foreskin specimens from normal infants were collected immediately after circumcision and processed for measuring cellular respiration and for culture. cellular mitochondrial o2 consumption was determined as a function of time from the phosphorescence decay of the pd (ii) meso-tetra-(4-sulfonatophenyl)-tetrabenzoporphyrin. results: in sealed vials containing a foreskin specimen and glucose, o2 concentration decreased linearly with time, confirming the zero-order kinetics of o2 consumption by cytochrome oxidase. cyanide inhibited o2 consumption, confirming that the oxidation occurred mainly in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. the rate of foreskin respiration (mean ± sd) was 0.074 ± 0.02 μm o2 min^-1 mg^-1 (n = 23). the corresponding rate for fibroblast-rich cultures was 9.84 ± 2.43 μm o2 min^-1 per 10^7 cells (n = 15). fibroblast respiration was significantly lower in a male infant with dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase gene mutations, but normalised with the addition of thiamine or carnitine. conclusion: the foreskin and its fibroblast-rich culture are suitable for assessment of cellular respiration. however, the clinical utility of foreskin specimens to detect disorders of impaired cellular bioenergetics requires further investigation.