Dihydrorhodamine 123 identifies impaired mitochondrial respiratory chain function in cultured cells harboring mitochondrial DNA mutations.

Several human diseases have been found to be caused by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. Pathogenic mutated (mut) mtDNAs are usually "heteroplasmic," coexisting intracellularly with wild-type (wt) mtDNAs. For some mtDNA mutations, cells have normal levels of respiratory chain function unless the percentage of mut-mtDNA is very high. Although progress in understanding the molecular basis of mitochondrial diseases has been remarkable, the heterogeneity of mut-mtDNA distribution, even among cells of the same tissue, makes it difficult to clearly delineate the relationships between mtDNA mutations, gene dosage, and clinical phenotypes. In a search for screening methods for identifying cultured cells with deficient mitochondrial function, we incubated living cells harboring mut-mtDNAs with dihydrorhodamine 123 (DHR123), an uncharged, nonfluorescent agent that can be converted by oxidation to the fluorescent laser dye rhodamine 123 (R123). Bright mitochondrial staining was observed in cells that respired normally. Fluorescence was significantly reduced in cells with mitochondrial respiratory chain dysfunction resulting from very high levels of mut-mtDNAs. The data show that DHR123 is useful for assessing mitochondrial function in single cells, and can be used for isolating viable, respiratory chain-deficient cells from heterogeneous cultures.