Objectives: This study investigated the feasibility of using a phosphorescence oxygen analyser to measure 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.
Keywords: Carnitine; Dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase; Fibroblasts; Foreskin; Mitochondria; Oxygen; Respiration; Thiamine.