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Methods in
Molecular Biology 2277
Volkmar Weissig
Marvin Edeas Editors
Mitochondrial
Medicine
Volume 3: Manipulating Mitochondria
and Disease- Specific Approaches
Second Edition
METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Series Editor
John M. Walker
School of Life and Medical Sciences
University of Hertfordshire
Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK
Second Edition
Edited by
Volkmar Weissig
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, USA
Marvin Edeas
Cochin Hospital, Cochin Institute, INSERM U1016, PARIS, France
Editors
Volkmar Weissig Marvin Edeas
Department of Pharmaceutical Cochin Hospital
Sciences Cochin Institute, INSERM U1016
Midwestern University PARIS, France
Glendale, AZ, USA
This Humana imprint is published by the registered company Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer
Nature.
The registered company address is: 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004, U.S.A.
Preface
It is our distinct pleasure to present the second edition of MiMB Mitochondrial Medicine to
the ever increasing number of scientists and physicians who are as fascinated by this tiny
organelle as we are. We started working on the first edition in September 2014 and were able
to bring about one year later two volumes with a total of 70 chapters to the market. As of
today (July 2020), 195K downloads have been recorded for Volume I1 and 90K downloads
for volume II2. In light of the rapidly growing and expanding field of Mitochondrial
Medicine, we readily accepted the invitation to compile a second edition, which we started
to work on in March 2019. This second edition as offered here involves a total of 88 chapters
with 45 of them written by new contributors who were not part of our first edition. The first
and second editions combined subsequently present work from 115 mitochondrial labora-
tories from around the globe. We therefore believe these five volumes combined to be the
most comprehensive source of know-how in the wide-ranging field of Mitochondrial
Medicine.
Dividing 87 chapters equally over three volumes proved to be a bit challenging. We
chose the subtitle Targeting Mitochondria for volume I, Assessing Mitochondria for volume
II, and Manipulating Mitochondria and Disease Specific Approaches for volume III while of
course being well aware of significant overlaps between these three areas of research. For
example, it is quite obvious that mitochondria are being targeted for the purpose of either
assessing them or to manipulate them. We therefore ask all authors not to be too critical
regarding the placement of their particular chapter. The reader we believe will anyway
choose to download a chapter of his/her interest quite independently of its placement in
one of the three volumes.
All chapters in these three volumes were written for graduate students, postdoctoral
associates, independent investigators in academia and industry as well as physicians by
leading experts in their particular field. We are extremely grateful to them for having
found the time to either update their chapter from the first edition or to write a new chapter.
We will not forget that for many if not all of our contributors the worldwide COVID-19
pandemic posed additional and unexpected hurdles towards finishing their manuscript in
due time. Thank you to all!
The idea for our original book proposal leading to the first edition of MiMB Mitochon-
drial Medicine originated in our efforts to organize a series of annual conferences on
Targeting Mitochondria (www.targeting-mitochondria.com), the tenth one of which mean-
while has taken place in November 2019 in Berlin, Germany. Due to the ongoing pandemic,
our 11th conference (October 29–30, 2020) will be a virtual one but we are sure it will not
be less exciting than all the previous editions.
1
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4939-2257-4.
2
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4939-2288-8.
v
vi Preface
Last but not least we would like to sincerely thank John Walker, the series editor of
Methods in Molecular Biology, for having invited us to compile this second edition and for his
unlimited guidance and help throughout the entire process. We also owe sincere thanks to
Patrick Marton, the Executive Editor of the Springer Protocol Series, for always having been
available in assisting us throughout the entire project.
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Contributors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
1 Allotopic Expression of ATP6 in Mouse as a Transgenic Model
of Mitochondrial Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
David A. Dunn and Carl A. Pinkert
2 Mitochondrial Transplantation for Ischemia Reperfusion Injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Ilias P. Doulamis and James D. McCully
3 Quantitatively Controlled Intercellular Mitochondrial Transfer
by Cell Fusion-Based Method Using a Microfluidic Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Ken-Ichi Wada, Kazuo Hosokawa, Yoshihiro Ito, and Mizuo Maeda
4 Lipophilic Conjugates for Carrier-Free Delivery of RNA
Importable into Human Mitochondria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Ilya Dovydenko, Mariya Meschaninova, Anne-Marie Heckel,
Ivan Tarassov, Alya Venyaminova, and Nina Entelis
5 Drug Discovery Assay to Identify Modulators of the Mitochondrial
Ca2+ Uniporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Daniela M. Arduino, Valerie Goh, Dejana Mokranjac,
and Fabiana Perocchi
6 Cytoplasmic Transfer Methods for Studying the Segregation
of Mitochondrial DNA in Mice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Thomas Kolbe, Ralf Steinborn, and Joerg P. Burgstaller
7 Electron Attachment to Isolated Molecules as a Probe
to Understand Mitochondrial Reductive Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Stanislav A. Pshenichnyuk and Alberto Modelli
8 Assessment of Short- and Medium-Chain Fatty Acids
on Mitochondrial Function in Severe Inflammation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Matthias Hecker, Natascha Sommer, and Konstantin Mayer
9 Assessment of the Effects of Drugs on Mitochondrial Respiration. . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Jana Hroudová and Zdeněk Fišar
10 The NDUFS4 Knockout Mouse: A Dual Threat Model
of Childhood Mitochondrial Disease and Normative Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Anthony S. Grillo, Alessandro Bitto, and Matt Kaeberlein
11 Suborganellar Localization of Mitochondrial Proteins
and Transcripts in Human Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Smirnova Anna, Richert Ludovic, Smirnov Alexandre,
Mély Yves, and Tarassov Ivan
12 In Vivo Assessment of Mitochondrial Oxygen Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Floor A. Harms and Egbert G. Mik
vii
viii Contents
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Contributors
xi
xii Contributors
JANA HROUDOVÁ • First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University
Hospital in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
GAVIN HUDSON • Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research, Newcastle University,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK; Biosciences Institute, Medical School, Newcastle University,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
GIZEM INAK • Department of General Pediatrics, Neonatology and Pediatric Cardiology,
Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany; Max Delbrück Center for Molecular
Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany
MASAAKI ISHII • Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of South Carolina,
Charleston, SC, USA
YOSHIHIRO ITO • Nano Medical Engineering Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering
Research, Wako, Saitama, Japan
TARASSOV IVAN • UMR 7156 - Molecular Genetics, Genomics, Microbiology (GMGM),
University of Strasbourg/CNRS, Strasbourg, France
PIERRE JAIS • INSERM U1045—Centre de Recherche Cardio-Thoracique de Bordeaux &
LIRYC—Institut de Rythmologie et Modélisation Cardiaque, Université de Bordeaux,
France, CHU de Bordeaux, France
YASCHAR KABIRI • Institute of Toxicology and Environmental Hygiene, School of Medicine,
Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
MATT KAEBERLEIN • Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of
Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
MIREILLE KHACHO • Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Ottawa
Institute of Systems Biology (OISB), Center for Neuromuscular Disease, University of
Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
PERCY A. KNOLLE • Institute of Molecular Immunology and Oncology, University Hospital
rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
THOMAS KOLBE • Biomodels Austria, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna,
Austria; Biotechnology in Animal Production, Department for Agrobiotechnology, IFA
Tulln, Tulln, Austria
RICHERT LUDOVIC • UMR 7021 - Laboratory of Biophotonics and Pharmacology (LBP),
University of Strasbourg/CNRS, Illkirch, France
MIZUO MAEDA • Bioengineering Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research,
Wako, Saitama, Japan
AFSHAN N. MALIK • Department of Diabetes, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, School of
Life Course Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK
KONSTANTIN MAYER • University of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center (UGMLC), Justus-
Liebig- University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany
JAMES D. MCCULLY • Department of Cardiac Surgery, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard
Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
MARIYA MESCHANINOVA • Laboratory of RNA Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Biology and
Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia
EGBERT G. MIK • Department of Anesthesiology, Laboratory of Experimental Anesthesiology,
Erasmus MC – University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
ALBERTO MODELLI • Dipartimento di Chimica “G. Ciamician”, Università di Bologna,
Bologna, Italy; Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca in Scienze Ambientali, Ravenna,
Italy
DEJANA MOKRANJAC • Biomedical Center Munich - Physiological Chemistry, Ludwig-
Maximilians Universit€ a t München, Martinsried, Germany
xiv Contributors
Abstract
Progress in animal modeling of polymorphisms and mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is not as
developed as nuclear transgenesis due to a host of cellular and physiological distinctions. mtDNA mutation
modeling is of critical importance as mutations in the mitochondrial genome give rise to a variety of
pathological conditions and play a contributing role in many others. Nuclear localization and transcription
of mtDNA genes followed by cytoplasmic translation and transport into mitochondria (allotopic expres-
sion, AE) provide an opportunity to create in vivo modeling of a targeted mutation in mitochondrial genes.
Accordingly, such technology has been suggested as a strategy for gene replacement therapy in patients
harboring mitochondrial DNA mutations. Here, we use our AE approach to transgenic mouse modeling of
the pathogenic human T8993G mutation in mtATP6 as a case study for designing AE animal models.
Key words Allotopic expression, ATP6, Transgenic mouse, mtDNA, Mitochondrial disease, Animal
modeling
1 Introduction
Volkmar Weissig and Marvin Edeas (eds.), Mitochondrial Medicine: Volume 3: Manipulating Mitochondria and Disease- Specific
Approaches, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 2277, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1270-5_1,
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
1
2 David A. Dunn and Carl A. Pinkert
2 Materials
2.2 Gene Synthesis 1. Oligonucleotides (25 nt in length) that cover the entire for-
ward and reverse sequence of the DNA to be synthesized
(Fig. 2).
2. dNTPs.
3. High Fidelity PCR polymerase; e.g., Pfu DNA Polymerase
(Promega Corporation, Madison, WI, USA).
4. Pfu DNA polymerase, 10 reaction buffer/10 PCR buffer
(Promega Corporation, Madison, WI, USA): 200 mM Tris–
HCl (pH 8.8 at 25 C), 100 mM KCl, 100 mM (NH4)2SO4,
20 mM MgSO4, 1.0% Triton® X-100, 1 mg/ml nuclease-
free BSA.
5. Phenol/chloroform/isoamyl alcohol (25:24:1).
6. 100% and 70% Ethanol.
7. Wizard® SV Gel and PCR Clean-Up System (Promega Corpo-
ration, Madison, WI, USA).
8. T7 DNA Endonuclease I (New England BioLabs, Ipswich,
MA, USA).
9. 10 NEBuffer 3 (New England BioLabs, Ipswich, MA, USA):
1 M NaCl, 500 mM Tris–HCl (pH 7.9 at 25 C),
100mM MgCl2, 10 mM DTT.
10. Tris-Acetate-EDTA agarose gels and electrophoresis apparatus.
F1 F2
5’gcggctcccagtgccgcgcgccaag-atccattcgctcgag^atgaacgaaa 3’
3’ cgcgcggttc^taggtaagcgagctc-tacttgcttt 5’
R1
F3 F4
5’atctatttgcctcat^tcattacccc-aacaatgatgggatt^cccaatcgtt 3’
3’tagataaacggagta-agtaatgggg^ttgttactaccctaa-gggttagcaa 5’
R2 R3
F5 F6
5’ gtagccatcattatg^tttccttcaa-tcctattcccatcct^caaaacgcct 3’
3’ catcggtagtaatac-aaaggaagtt^aggataagggtagga-gttttgcgga 5’
R4 R5
F7 F8
5’ aatcaacaaccgtct^ccattctttc-caacactggctagtt^aaacttatta 3’
3’ ttagttgttggcaga-ggtaagaaag^gttgtgaccgatcaa-tttgaataat 5’
R6 R7
F9 F10
5’ tcaaacaaatgatgc^taatccacac-accaaaaggacgaac^atggacccta 3’
3’ agtttgtttactacg-attaggtgtg^tggttttcctgcttg-tacctgggat 5’
R8 R9
F11 F12
5’ atgattgtttcccta^atcatgttta-ttggatcaacaaatc^tcctaggcct 3’
3’ tactaacaaagggat-tagtacaaat^aacctagttgtttag-aggatccgga 5’
R10 R11
F13 F14
5’ tttaccacatacatt^tacacctact-acccaactatccatg^aatctaagta 3’
3’ aaatggtgtatgtaa-atgtggatga^tgggttgataggtac-ttagattcat 5’
R12 R13
F15 F16
5’ tggccattccactat^gggctggagc-cgtaattacaggctt^ccgacacaaa 3’
3’ accggtaaggtgata-cccgacctcg^gcattaatgtccgaa-ggctgtgttt 5’
R14 R15
F17 F18
5’ ctaaaaagctcactt^gcccacttcc-ttccacaaggaactc^caatttcact 3’
3’ gatttttcgagtgaa-cgggtgaagg^aaggtgttccttgag-gttaaagtga 5’
R16 R17
F19 F20
5’ aattccaatgcttat^tattattgaa-acaattagcctattt^attcaaccaa 3’
3’ ttaaggttacgaata-ataataactt^tgttaatcggataaa-taagttggtt 5’
R18 R19
F21 F22
5’ tggcattagcagtcc^ggcttacagc-taacattactgcagg^acacttatta 3’
3’ accgtaatcgtcagg-ccgaatgtcg^attgtaatgacgtcc-tgtgaataat 5’
R20 R21
F23 F24
5’ atgcacctaatcgga^ggagctactc-tagtattaatgaata^ttagcccacc 3’
3’ tacgtggattagcct-cctcgatgag^atcataattacttat-aatcgggtgg 5’
R22 R23
F25 F26
5’ aacagctaccattac^atttattatt-ttacttctactcaca^attctagaat 3’
3’ ttgtcgatggtaatg-taaataataa^aatgaagatgagtgt-taagatctta 5’
R24 R25
F27 F28
5’ ttgcagtagcattaa^ttcaagccta-cgtattcaccctcct^agtaagccta 3’
3’ aacgtcatcgtaatt-aagttcggat^gcataagtgggagga-tcattcggat 5’
R26 R27
F29 F30
5’ tatctacatgataat^acagcggccg-cagaacaaaaactca^tctcagaaga 3’
3’ atagatgtactatta-tgtcgccggc^gtcttgtttttgagt-agagtcttct 5’
R28 R29
3’ cctagacttaccccg 5’
R30
- = beginning/end of primer
^ = within a primer
MutF21: tggcccgggcagtccggcttacagc
MutR20: ggactgcccgggccattggttgaat
Fig. 2 (continued)
3 Methods
3.1 Construct Design 1. Choose (or create) an appropriate expression vector. For the
ATP6 model, we chose pEF/myc/mito. pEF/myc/mito, and
other vectors like it have several necessary elements that are
required in order for AE to proceed and for experimental
visualization of the product. These include promoter (see
Note 3), mitochondrial transport signal (see Note 4), polyA
signal, and epitope tag.
2. Align wild-type and mutant human and wild-type murine
ATP6 sequences using any word processing software (e.g.,
Allotopic Expression of ATP6 in the Mouse 7
10 20 30 40 50
Human WT atgaacgaaaatctgttcgcttcattcattgcccccacaatcctaggcct
T8992G atgaacgaaaatctgttcgcttcattcattgcccccacaatcctaggcct
Murine WT atgaacgaaaatctatttgcctcattcattaccccaacaataataggatt
A6M gcggctcccagtgccgcgcgccaagatccattcgctcgagatgaacgaaaatctatttgcctcattcattaccccaacaatgatgggatt
A6W gcggctcccagtgccgcgcgccaagatccattcgctcgagatgaacgaaaatctatttgcctcattcattaccccaacaatgatgggatt
A6M gccgcagaacaaaaactcatctcagaagaggatctgaatggggccgcatag
A6W gccgcagaacaaaaactcatctcagaagaggatctgaatggggccgcatag
t467g
AvaI restriction site
Fig. 3 Aligned DNA sequences of human wild-type and mutated mtATP6, wild-type mouse mtATP6, and
transgenic AE mutant (A6M) and wild-type (A6W)
Table 1
Differences between the standard genetic code and the mitochondrial genetic code
3.2 Gene Synthesis 1. Separate primers from item 1, Subheading 2.2 into groups of
and Construct four (F1, F2, R1, R2 from Fig. 2 in the first tube, F2, F3, R2,
Assembly (See Note 7) R3 in the second tube, etc.) as described in [17]. Aliquot each
primer into a PCR tube with the outer primers at 200 nM and
the two inner primers at 40 nM.
2. Perform dual asymmetrical PCR (DA-PCR) in the tubes from
step 1. In addition to the primers, add 200 μM dNTPs and Pfu
(or other thermostable proofreading) DNA polymerase in a
50 μl total reaction volume. Perform the reaction using the
following conditions: 94 C for 20 s, 45 C for 15 s, and 72 C
for 30 s over 20 cycles.
3. Combine 5 μl aliquots of each of the reactions from step 2 into
a single new tube, extract with 150 μl phenol/chloroform/
isoamyl alcohol (25:24:1), precipitate with 100% ethyl alcohol,
and wash with 70% ethyl alcohol.
4. Resuspend precipitated products from the first PCR reaction in
86 μl ultrapure H2O. Set up the second PCR step (overlap
extension, OE-PCR) by adding 10 μl 10 PCR buffer, 2 μl
dNTPs (final concentration 200 μM), and 2 μl Pfu polymerase.
Allotopic Expression of ATP6 in the Mouse 9
4 Notes
Acknowledgements
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Chapter 2
Abstract
Mitochondrial transplantation is a novel therapeutic intervention to treat ischemia-reperfusion-related
disorders. This approach uses replacement of native mitochondria with viable, respiration-competent
mitochondria isolated from non-ischemic tissue obtained from the patient’s own body, to overcome the
many deleterious effects of ischemia-reperfusion injury on native mitochondria. The safety and efficacy of
this methodology has been demonstrated in cell culture, animal models and has been shown to be safe and
efficacious in a phase I clinical trial in pediatric cardiac patients with ischemia-reperfusion injury. These
studies have demonstrated that mitochondrial transplantation rescues myocardial cellular viability and
significantly enhances postischemic myocardial function following ischemia-reperfusion injury. Herein,
we describe methodologies for the delivery of isolated mitochondria.
1 Introduction
Mitochondria are present in every cell in the body except for the red
blood cells. In the heart, the mitochondria represent approximately
30% of cardiomyocyte cell volume and provide the majority of
energy to allow for myocardial cellular viability and function. To
meet the energy demands of the myocardium, the mitochondria are
dependent upon a continuous supply of oxygen delivered by the
coronary arteries and extract more than 78% of the coronary artery
oxygen at rest. Thus, the heart is an obligate aerobic organ.
Decreases in oxygen delivery due either to constriction, blockade,
or disruption result in the rapid onset of ischemia and initiate a
cascade of mechanism resulting in loss of cellular viability and
decreased myocardial function [1–4].
We and others have demonstrated that ischemia damages mito-
chondrial structure, volume, calcium accumulation, complex
Volkmar Weissig and Marvin Edeas (eds.), Mitochondrial Medicine: Volume 3: Manipulating Mitochondria and Disease- Specific
Approaches, Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 2277, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1270-5_2,
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
15
16 Ilias P. Doulamis and James D. McCully
2.1 Direct Epicardial 1. A sterile tube or suitable container to collect and resuspended
Injection isolated mitochondria. The tube should be kept at 4 C.
2.1.1 Materials 2. A tuberculin syringe (1 mL).
3. A 28- or 32-gauge needle.
2.1.2 Method 1. The mitochondria are loaded into the syringe at the recom-
mended concentrations per 1 mL buffer (see below).
2. Injections are delivered into the area-at-risk.
3. Injection volumes are 50–100 μL each.
4. Injections can be delivered directly to the epicardial tissue in a
manner that allows for access. There is no need for the mito-
chondria to be delivered obliquely.
5. Injections in the beating heart are best made by gently placing
the needle on the epicardial surface and penetrating during the
cardiac diastolic phase.
6. We have found no flash back at these volumes and there is no
need for purse string sutures to retain mitochondria [8, 9, 15–
17, 19].
7. Epicardial echocardiography should be performed following
delivery of the mitochondria to ensure lack of intramyocardial
hematoma development.
In our studies we have delivered 0.5–10 107 mitochondria to
each of 8–10 sites within the area-at-risk [8, 9, 16, 17, 19]. Each
injection was 50–100 μL.
Direct injection of mitochondria provides localized distribu-
tion of mitochondria [16].
Mitochondrial concentrations of 2 108 are not fully sus-
pended in 1 mL of buffer and are therefore not advised for mito-
chondrial transplantation by direct injection [9].
2.2.4 Cons – Requires arterial catheterization and the use of contrast and
radiation.
– Does not allow for administration of mitochondria on a very
specific spot.
Mitochondrial Transplantation 19
3 Co-incubation
3.2.2 Isolate The methodology for mitochondrial isolation and quality control
Mitochondria and quality assurance has been previously published [6, 18, 25].
Note: We recommend the use of our method for the isolation
of mitochondria [6]. If other methods are used, ensure no con-
taminants from foreign DNA or antibodies or isolation gradient are
present [25].
20 Ilias P. Doulamis and James D. McCully
1. Isolate mitochondria.
2. Determine mitochondria number by hemocytometer or by
particle count using a Beckman Multisizer 4e Coulter counter
or a similar device (Beckman Coulter, Pasadena, CA) [6, 25].
3. Resuspend the freshly isolated mitochondria (1 109–
1 1010 in 1 mL buffer (300 mmol/L sucrose, 10 mmol/L
HEPES-KOH, 1 mmol/L EGTA-KOH, pH 7.4) in a 1.5 mL
Eppendorf tube.
Note: We use 1 tube of freshly isolated mitochondria (1 109–
1 1010 in 1 mL buffer) for mitochondrial uptake and 1 tube of
freshly isolated mitochondria (1 109–1 1010 in 1 mL buffer)
for ATP determination. All reactions are performed in parallel to
ensure replication and estimation validity.
3.2.4 For ATP or Other 1. Resuspend the freshly isolated mitochondria (1 109–
1 1010 in 1 mL buffer (300 mmol/L sucrose, 10 mmol/L
HEPES-KOH, 1 mmol/L EGTA-KOH, pH 7.4) in a 1.5 mL
Eppendorf tube.
2. Centrifuge at 14,000 RPM (18,407 g) at 4 C in Eppendorf
centrifuge for 10 min.
3. Discard the supernatant.
4. Resuspend the pellet in 1 mL buffer.
5. Recentrifuge at 4 C in an Eppendorf centrifuge for 10 min.
6. Discard the supernatant.
7. Resuspend the pellet in 1 mL buffer.
8. Recentrifuge at 4 C in an Eppendorf centrifuge for 10 min.
9. Discard the supernatant.
10. Resuspend the pellet in 1 mL buffer.
11. Recentrifuge at 4 C in an Eppendorf centrifuge for 10 min.
12. Remove supernatant and save as control.
13. Resuspend the pellet in buffer (1 103–1 107 in
100–200 μL buffer).
14. Store on ice.
15. Use immediately.
3.2.5 Cells Note: Some cell lines are extremely sensitive to Subtilisin A (Prote-
ase from Bacillus licheniformis, Type VIII, lyophilized powder,
7–15 units/mg solid, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO). Multiple
washes are recommended.
1. Have cells ready for co-incubation.
2. Remove media from each well.
3. Add 100–200 μL of media containing mitochondria at desired
concentration in each well.
4. Control cells are incubated with 100–200 μL of the saved
last wash.
Note: Mitochondria float, as evidenced by the use of dif-
ferential centrifugation techniques for isolation and thus for
co-incubation to occur the mitochondria must be in contact
with the cells.
Note: Mitochondria number for co-incubation can vary;
however, we have found that concentrations less than or equal
to 1 107/50,000 cells in a 24-well plate are optimal.
Mitochondria concentration greater than 1 107/50,000
cells in a 24-well plate is not recommended.
5. Incubate cells as usual for required time. If incubating beyond
24 h, add fresh media at 24 h as appropriate.
22 Ilias P. Doulamis and James D. McCully
4 Discussion
4.1 Mitochondria The methodology for mitochondria isolation and quality control
Isolation and assurance have been previously published [6, 25].
The advantages of this method are:
1. It requires only a small amount of tissue (<0.01 g tissue, wet
weight).
2. The tissue is obtained from the patient thus eliminating inflam-
matory and immune reaction.
3. It uses a standardized tissue dissociation process that allows for
uniform and consistent homogenization of tissue that is not
easily achieved with manual homogenization methods.
4. The use of differential filtration eliminates time-consuming and
repetitive centrifugation steps.
5. It can be performed in less than 30 min.
6. It can be performed at the bedside.
7. It can be performed multiple times as needed during the oper-
ative procedure.
8. It can be performed within the time frame of the surgical
procedure and does not delay surgical protocols [6, 8, 19].
The isolated mitochondria are viable and maintain membrane
potential and all complex activity and are fully capable of oxygen
uptake and ATP production [15, 16, 24]. Contamination by
non-mitochondrial particles as determined by transmission elec-
tron microscopy is less than 0.001% [15, 16, 24]. Enzymatic analy-
sis of mitochondria isolates for the cytosolic and cytoplasmic
contaminant markers glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase
(GAPDH), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and microsome con-
taminate markers 50 nucleotidase and glucose- 6-phosphatase were
undetectable [15, 16, 24, 25]. No nuclear DNA was detectable in
isolated mitochondrial samples by qPCR [15, 16, 24, 50]. Western
Mitochondrial Transplantation 23
4.2 Mitochondrial Mitochondria can be isolated from almost every cell type. For our
Source studies we have used skeletal muscle tissue obtained from the
patient’s own body [5–9, 11–19, 27, 50, 54, 55]. For clinical
application, the source of tissue is dependent upon the surgical
entry point and access. In adults undergoing cardiac surgery
using a minimal thoracotomy, we have found that the pectoralis
major is a good source of tissue [13, 16, 17, 24, 27]. In patients
undergoing a sternotomy, the rectus abdominus muscle is used
[8, 19]. When performing a carotid cut-down for catheter access
we have used the sternocleidomastoid muscle [13, 24, 27].
The size of the tissue samples obtained from the respective
muscle sample is small, 6 mm [6, 16]. We obtain the samples
using a #6 biopsy punch. Only two samples are needed for each
24 Ilias P. Doulamis and James D. McCully
4.3 Suspension Once isolated, the mitochondria are resuspended in vehicle. For
in Solution our purposes we have used buffer solution (300 mmol/L sucrose,
10 mmol/L HEPES-KOH, 1 mmol/L EGTA-KOH, pH 7.4);
however, respiration media (250 mmol/L sucrose, 2 mmol/L
KH2PO4, 10 mmol/L MgCl2, 20 mmol/L K + -HEPES buffer,
pH7.2, 0.5 mmol/L K + -EGTA, pH 8.0, 5 mmol/lL glutamate,
5 mmol/L malate, 8 mmol/l succinate and 1 mmol/L ADP) or
PBS (phosphate buffered saline, 137 Mm/L NaCl, 2.7 mM
KCl/L, 8 mM Na2HPO4/L, and 2 Mm/l KH2PO4) can also
be used.
We recommend vehicle buffer for use as respiration buffer must
be made fresh and requires multiple steps to ensure sterility, all of
which require time.
Note: All buffers must be sterilized by filtration through a
22 um filter prior to use.
Note: For direct injection, the number of mitochondria sus-
pended in vehicle cannot exceed 108. Our studies have shown
that mitochondrial concentrations exceeding 2 108 mitochon-
dria are not fully distributed in the vehicle.
4.4 Stability Our studies have demonstrated that oxygen consumption rate
of Isolated (OCR) in isolated mitochondria is stable for at least 2 h when
Mitochondria stored on ice. Mitochondrial OCR for malate (complex I) immedi-
ately following isolation was 106.6 6.0 (nM O2/min/ mg mito-
chondrial protein) [6, 16]. No significant difference in OCR was
observed at 30, 60, 90, or 120 min after isolation with storage on
ice. OCR was 94.3 9.3; 101.6 0.7.3; 91.3 9.6; and
94.6 6.6 nM O2/min/ mg mitochondrial protein, respectively.
OCR at 3 h storage was significantly decreased to 33.6 4.6 nM
O2/min/mg mitochondrial protein [6, 16] (Fig. 2).
This is in agreement with previous reports that have shown that
mitochondrial bioenergetic function is decreased to <10–15% of
normal after the mitochondria were frozen, even when preserva-
tives are used [56, 57]. Nuckala et al. have demonstrated that
despite the addition of well-characterized preservatives and cool-
ing–freezing protocols, isolated mitochondria lose functional
capacity [58].
4.5 Mitochondrial For cardiac use, we recommend 2 105–2 106 mitochondria per
Concentration gram tissue wet weight. These concentrations have been deter-
mined by studies performed using 2 105, 2 106, 2 107,
and 2 108 mitochondria per gram tissue wet weight. Our results
Mitochondrial Transplantation 25
nM O2/min/mg mitochondrial
100
protein
50
*
0
1 30 60 90 120 180
Minutes after Isolation
B C
100
D E
80
1 x 109
60 1 x 1011
1 x 107
40
1 x 105
Ilias P. Doulamis and James D. McCully
20
Dead 1 x 109
(% Equilibrium)
20 10
10
Infarct Size/ Area-at-Risk (%)
0 0
2 x 105 2 x 106 2 x 107 2 x 108 Vehicle 2 x 105 2 x 106 2 x 107 2 x 108 Vehicle
Fig. 3 Mitochondrial concentration for use in heart. (a) Continuous coronary blood flow (CBF) at the mid-left anterior descending artery upon intracoronary injection
of dead mitochondria and live mitochondria at mitochondrial concentrations of 1 103, 1 105, 1 107, 1 109, and 1 1011 (n ¼ 6). There was no difference
observed in CBF for Vehicle alone as compared to dead mitochondria. Global functional assessments of left ventricular (LV) post-intracoronary injection of
mitochondria at mitochondrial concentrations of 1 103, 1 105, 1 107, 1 109, and 1 1011. (b) maximal rate of rise of LV pressure (max % dP/dt); (c) LV
peak developed pressure (LVPDP); (d) LV end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) (n ¼ 6). (e) Regional LV contractile assessment by percent segmental shortening (%SS)
(n ¼ 6). (f) Systolic shortening at 2 105, 2 106, 2 107 and 2 108 mitochondria per gram tissue (wet weight) and (g) infarct size at 2 105, 2 106,
2 107 and 2 108 mitochondria per gram tissue (wet weight). All values are mean SEM, averaged over 60 cardiac cycles immediately post intracoronary
ä
Fig. 3 (continued) injections. *P < 0.05 vs. Vehicle. These results demonstrate that in cardiac tissue maximum benefits occur using 2 105 to 2 106mitochon-
dria per gram tissue (wet weight) equal to 1 109 mitochondria in adult heart. No adverse effects were observed at concentrations greater than 2 105 to
2 106 mitochondria per gram tissue (wet weight). (From: McCully et al. Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 2009; Shin et al. JACC Basic Transl. Sci. 2019)
Mitochondrial Transplantation
27
28 Ilias P. Doulamis and James D. McCully
4.9 Endocytosis In 1982, Clark and Shay co-incubated mammalian cells with
isolated mitochondria from cultured cells having chloromycetin
resistance with cells having chloromycetin sensitivity. The authors
showed that the isolated mitochondria were taken up by an endo-
cytosis pathway, transferring the antibiotic resistance to the recipi-
ent cells [34]. Later, Katrangi et al., in 2007, demonstrated that
exogenous mitochondria can enter mitochondria-deficient cells
and recover cell respiratory function [35]. Kitani et al. extended
Fig. 4 Uptake and endocytic transport of extracellular mitochondria in cardiomyocytes. Induced pluripotent
stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPS-CMs) were exposed to gold-labeled mitochondria isolated from human
cardiac fibroblasts for 2.5, 5, and 10 min and imaged by transmission electron microscopy. Labeled
mitochondria had electron-dense deposits and were apparent at all three study times outside cells, adjacent
to the apical cell surface, undergoing endocytosis, and inside cells (left to right and indicated by arrows).
Images are representative of four experiments at 5 min. Scale bars, 0.5 μm. (From: Cowan et al. Sci. Rep.
2017)
Mitochondrial Transplantation 31
"I have never imagined you existed for anyone else," she protested
indignantly. "Another time you'll know that when it looks as if I were
thinking of someone else it's really that I am concentrating extra hard on
something connected with your happiness."
* * * * * *
They had dismissed Digby Maur and his picture too airily. His suffering
was intense enough to cause his hatred of Cyprian to reflect again on Ferlie.
Everybody in the Club could see that he and Mrs. Clifford no longer
held sweet converse together nor walked in that House of Rimmon as
friends. Its numerous unmystical members openly rejoiced that Sterne had,
at last, put his foot down.
The iron entered into Digby Maur's soul. His was not the nature to forgo
visions of public revenge. Ferlie was involved in them because, although he
had unjustifiably presumed upon her frank comradeship to the extent of
insulting her, his desire, outweighing the elements of purer passion which
she had primarily awakened in him, was an emotion more likely to breed
wounded resentment than humble submission, on the well-deserved
withdrawal of its star.
"It shows he has accepted the position and means to be sensible," she
told Cyprian. "When he returns we can meet as club-acquaintances and it
will be forgotten that we ever appeared to be anything more."
"Burma does not forget," he said cloudily, and she understood that he
had learnt that lesson bitterly enough.
She might have been less sanguine of a happy ending to her own affair
if she had connected with Maur's departure a detailed announcement in the
Rangoon papers of a forthcoming Art Exhibition, on a large scale, and for
which contributions were invited in the form of original sketches, paintings,
leather-work, pottery and all the usual articles universally acknowledged,
on such occasions, a joy for ever.
There must follow comment and inquiries as to the identity of the artist
who had produced "Imprisoned Flames."
"It's damned good," said Peter. "Probably it is Cyprian's. I'd like to have
a copy. When we run them to earth we will ask them why they never told us
it was here."
Aunt B., mistrusting the frailty of human flesh, had not mentioned the
relationship under which they were masquerading. They might have already
dropped it in anticipation of the divorce to which in common sense they
must finally succumb. Better, she thought, to let Ferlie tell her own tale to
Peter. She had not foreseen that Ferlie would delay too long in replying to
Peter's letter, on the basis that least said on paper soonest mended.
So Peter and the Colonel only knew that the two were together and that
Ferlie's name was Mrs. Clifford to stave off the world's curiosity.
Digby Maur was already lionized, and, being Digby Maur, his head
already felt a little light.
He longed for Ferlie and Cyprian to hear of his triumph at first hand,
and appreciated, with a tinge of malice, that the daily papers would afford
Cyprian a resentful shock over the publicity bestowed upon the painting of
Ferlie.
"I must say you have not even a family resemblance to your brother,"
hazarded Digby.
"Which is not surprising," and Peter eyed him with interest, "seeing that
I have no brother."
"I didn't catch your name," Peter was saying when Digby recovered his
breath. "Mine's Carmichael. My sister is a Mrs. Clifford."
"By Jove! Then it was you——" Peter studied him afresh and stopped,
faintly uneasy. This man must know Ferlie quite well. What on earth had
made him suppose Cyprian his brother—or hers? Better not inquire, lest he
should put his foot on some unexplained situation. He drifted into
enthusiastic comment on the portrait and escaped to warn Colonel Maddock
of the artist's identity. He had been prepared for an equivocal attitude from
the narrow-minded, who might criticize Ferlie's staying with a friend of
Cyprian's calibre. Odd of Cyprian to rush her off like that to Burma. The
uncle part could be overdone. Aunt B. had said they were living in the wilds
and seeing no one, so it had appeared not to matter. He had assumed them
lost to both hemispheres till Ferlie should become stronger after her
troubles and able to make some satisfactory arrangement with Clifford.
She should have confided in her mother, or her only brother long ago.
Of course he saw that she could not be left to the care of a chap who, from
Aunt B.'s hints, was little better than a maniac on one point, however sane
he might be on all others. Like the Vane woman, he would probably end in
a Home, unless—and Peter eagerly recalled certain experiments he had
been requested to make in Ruth Levine's flat and on the efficacy of which
he was now awaiting her final verdict. He was so "keen" on insanity and if
his ideas consolidated into success there seemed no limit to his horizon.
His gaze into space grew abstracted and he dismissed Maur's inquiry
with a shrug. People always took for granted that old Cyprian was some
sort of a relation: this fellow had obviously noticed that Ferlie did not use
the prefix "Uncle," and had assumed the rest.
Rum chap, Cyprian. A queer friend for her to have stuck to all these
years. He really must hint to her, though, that she could not, in any country,
pay an indefinite visit to a man friend, however elderly, without asking for
the acidulated comments of catty women and coarse-minded men.
By the time he found the Colonel that gentleman had already been
presented to Maur; who had made hay to some purpose; having decided to
try another tack and assume Cyprian something different from a brother,
this time.
"Yes, I have had the great privilege of painting Mrs. Clifford, sir. Do
you happen to be acquainted with her husband?"
The Colonel was grateful for the lead. He thought Peter had suggested
that Ferlie was posing as a widow. Much better to have admitted separation,
since, at this distance, awkward questions could not be answered anyway.
"I have met him and have no desire to meet him again. You can take it
from me, Mr. Maur, that she was altogether wise in insisting that they
should live their lives apart. As for your picture of her I should have much
pleasure..." etc., etc.
He certainly thought he must have done Ferlie a good turn if this man
should be a talker. The chances were now people would get to know the
husband was impossible. He blandly concentrated on the picture.
"This one is not for sale," Digby assured him. "But if I can persuade
Mrs. Clifford to sit again—and I think that will be possible—I should be
happy to execute you a fresh order, though I never reproduce. I wonder if a
bank of our red lilies and the hint of a gold pagoda-roof in the middle
distance, reflected in water—you have visited the lakes?"
"Aunt B. declared that she was calling herself a widow," said Peter,
"hence the 'Mrs. Clifford.' It was easier to avoid publicity and the interest of
the folk who covet their neighbour's peace of mind. The 'brother' mistake is
fishy preceding his attitude to you. We must pick our way if we don't want
to get Ferlie's name handed round with the ice-cream at every official show
going. When we see her I shall put it to her straight."
"Ferlie," said Cyprian, one morning, pushing back his chair from the
breakfast-table, "are you feeling all right?"
"That's just what I have been asking myself for more than a week. The
Hot Weather is not nearly upon us yet."
"Nothing."
"Oh!"
What else could she do when he was right? It seemed sometimes a great
deal too high, the price she was paying to preserve their flawless peace. At
least, it had been flawless until Digby Maur returned from Rangoon, but not
to fall easily into his niche as a casual acquaintance.
She wondered, when she sat staring at him on the river-bank below the
garden with its wild, concealing foliage, why she had never before thought
of comparing his eyes to a snake's.
He painted on, grimly speechless, but when they travelled over her,
devoid of expression, coldly alive, she could have fled in panic. And she
had got to see the thing out or everyone would learn that Cyprian had
brought her here under false colours and that, somewhere in England, dwelt
her husband, complacently aware of their flight.
Why had she been such a fool as to shrink from confiding, by letter, in
Peter?
The Peters are well known later to deny; not so the Ferlies.
That Force had stood by her in her darkness: therefore she must stand
by it now that she walked in sunshine.
The doors would swing wide on very little pressure (... Et ne nos
inducas in tentationem).
The picture completed, it was his intention to make a final effort to re-
arouse her forfeited pity. If she should throw up the sponge before he were
ready he determined to stick at nothing which should force her and that
canting Sterne to eat the dust of the same humiliation they had publicly
heaped upon him.
He was incapable of believing that they were not lovers in the term's
worst accepted sense. And what man has done man can do, and the woman
who takes one step in that direction will take another, he promised himself.
"I don't think you quite understand," she said, "the strain this deception
is putting upon me. Cyprian is inventing reasons in his own mind for my
looking so ill. But I simply can't sleep."
"Do you really imagine that he would allow you to finish this, if I did?"
"In that case I should distinctly advise you not to tell him."
"Oh, you are a cad!" she burst out. "What man, worthy of the name,
would take advantage of a private confidence inadvertently yielded, to
further his own ends?"
"You forget," he said, "your Cyprian never, from the beginning, would
admit that I was worthy of the name. Do you happen to know the terms in
which he forbade me your company?"
"Why not, therefore, resign yourself to the worst where my actions are
under discussion?"
"We had an agreement before T consented to this course," she reminded
him. "I suppose you will not forget it."
"I denied any intention of employing tactics which had already failed to
make you see my side." There was a sneer in his voice. "I have,
nevertheless, abided by the word of a—no, I'll spare you. You started this
conversation, not I."
"Do you think I have not suffered too?" he asked, more humanely.
"Once, you would have noticed that I am hardly looking as if my own
nights were undisturbed."
Then, as she answered nothing, "You had better ask Sterne where he
intends to bring up his son that no stigma shall attach to his name in future
as he seems persuaded it does to mine."
"You could save yours if you wished," she said, in tired tones. "It is
what we are that matters, not what other people think we are."
"You may not be the hypocrite you seem. But as for your reputed
brother ..."
"I think, if I were you, I'd leave it at that," Ferlie told him, so
significantly that he paused and passed the rest of the sentence off with an
unpleasant laugh.
"I don't understand exactly what you remind me of," was his next
opening. "Have you, in England, any legends referring to the spirits of
trees? We, in Burma, people our mountains and rivers and trees with 'nats,'
which are powerfully angelic or demoniac spirits, but the tree-nats are the
most popular, I think. I might have painted you as my conception of a Gul
Mohur Nat, but, then, you would have had to stand nude among the
shadows—hardly visible, but still nude, with the dull golden reflections of
the flowers upon your pale skin."
Ferlie looked back steadily into the hard brightness of his eyes.
The attitude of purely English Club members might be, in part,
responsible for the character-development here of weak expansiveness into
bitter withdrawal, and natural animal passion to the impotent rage of
unnatural excesses which lent him a spurious sense of power.
The real power on this occasion lay in her own self-control, and she
knew it.
"Your thoughts just bore me," said Ferlie flatly. "I can see them passing
across your face and they are ugly enough to mar any work you attempt.
And, underneath all my angry disgust, I am sorry for you. If you came
across a wounded snake what would you do?"
The palette crashed to the ground as he took a pace forward, clenching
his stained hands.
"If you are, as I believe you to be, a true artist under your skin," and she
kept very still, "you will practise the restraint which should enable you to
put your picture before your—passions. I have stood long enough for to-
day."
She turned swiftly and retreated through the trees; nor did he attempt to
call her back.
* * * * * *
Towards the end of the week Cyprian, who had left Ferlie at the Club
surrounded by a new batch of English papers, and ridden out, himself, to an
inspection connected with his work at some distance, returned late in the
afternoon, to find her missing.
"Your sister, Mr. Sterne? No. She only stayed at the Club about a
quarter of an hour."
"Then I'll go home that way, skirting the hill," said Cyprian. "The
servant met me with a telegram for her, having been to the bungalow and
found her out."
He rode slowly off, flicking at the flies with his crop. Once on the
narrow path above the bank he let the horse pick its own way. The back
compounds of one or two bungalows, set far apart, straggled to the bushy
slope above the water, but the vicinity of the river was too feverish in the
evening to be popular, and it struck Cyprian as particularly unwise of Ferlie
to choose this spot for a walk, in her present languid state of health.
He made up his mind to tackle her outright when they got home and
insist upon knowing what was worrying her. He had taken refuge in
patience, but she sometimes needed rousing by sharper methods.
There might have arrived a letter from Peter criticizing what Cyprian
felt to be none of that gentleman's business. As an only brother, and older
than Ferlie, it was possible that Peter's scruples had outweighed his
discretion. Cyprian, having overcome his own, was not prepared for re-
discussion of the situation with anybody. To have and to hold, whatever the
future brought to either of them. He would plough the furrow now to the
very end.
The ruin of decaying vegetation on the dank path muffled the sound of
his horse's hoofs and he had passed within a few yards of the foliage
concealing the speakers when the identity of one was revealed to him.
"I told you yesterday that you make me pity you, in spite of myself,"
Ferlie was saying excitedly. "I am speaking cold sense when I repeat that it
will be impossible for me to hide much longer from Cyprian that I am not
spending my afternoons at the Club. I actually had to go there to-day to
avoid questions before he went out into the district."
"Well, it's no use," Digby Maur's huskily uneven tones replied. "You're
great on 'control' and all that, and the means you employ to get here do not
concern me. You will continue to come for as long as I need you, because
you can't help yourself; and I am not nearly finished with you yet."
Cyprian, on this statement, became entirely primitive man, and did not
wait to consider the metamorphosis. He dismounted, crashed through the
interlacing branches, and found himself standing between Ferlie and the
individual who had made this astounding claim on her time.
The air was pregnant with the labouring emotions of a drama as old as
the world.
Digby Maur recovered first from the intrusion, for, aware that he now
had his back to the wall he was, also, reliant on the sharpness of his teeth.
Sterne was the kind of man to sell his soul in avoiding a scandal should
such a drastic price be required of him.
"Good evening," he said. "These are my grounds and you will be ready
to admit that even my humble home is my castle?"
For answer, the intruder stepped forward and slashed him across the
face with the riding-crop.
"The horse is here. I am going to put you up on it and lead it home. You
don't look fit to walk."
Without a word she went with him down the slope. She would have
refused his help in mounting only that he lifted her bodily and set her
sideways on the saddle, putting the reins between her nerveless fingers.
The dull thudding progress of the horse was out of time with her
quickening pulses.... Something in the life of Cyprian and herself was over,
and of the new phase which loomed ahead she was afraid.
Arrived at the house she motioned him away and slipped unaided to the
ground. He tossed the reins to a servant and followed her up the path to his
office. She sank into a chair and sat motionless resting her chin in her
palms, dimly aware that he had passed into his dressing-room. She heard
the splutter of a syphon, and immediately he returned to push a weak
mixture towards her. "Drink it up," he ordered in matter-of-fact tones. "And
then, just when you're ready, Ferlie, you can begin."
So he had not forgotten his promise. Cyprian never made the same
mistake twice. It took a long while for her to tell him, and during the whole
recital he refrained from interruption. When she ended he drew a deep
breath and stretched out a hand through the gathering dusk to lay it over
hers in the old protective way.
"I have this to say," he told her. "We are through with any childish
arguments concerning one another's rights. You have taken no irrevocable
vows to obey me—in fact, I believe the word has lately been deleted from
the orthodox marriage service, has it not?—but our united brains must be
clear upon the point that two cannot walk together unless they are agreed,
and, as it is impossible for two human souls of widely different impulses to
agree identically upon the treatment of every problem they may be called
upon to solve, it is necessary that in final decisions one should yield
precedence to the other. In visionary matters beyond my ken I am willing to
sit at your feet. Over practical matters and the verdicts that affect our
material welfare, I claim precedence, Ferlie. You gave it to me when you
gave yourself into my keeping at Black Towers. I am responsible for you;
not you for me. Are you satisfied for this to be so?"
It was not in her power to speak, but she bowed her weary puzzled head
over his hand and rested it there. He laid his free one upon her hair and
continued speaking, while he absently smoothed the ruffled "bob."
"Yes? Well, in the circumstances, you had no shadow of right to take the
law into your own hands and act deliberately against my wishes, just
because my trust in you was too complete for me to conceive the possibility
of such a thing. If that trust between us is to remain solid, our problems, in
the future, will have to be shared. Neither must spare the other for a
mistaken sense of self-sacrifice. You would not hide your joys from me—
why, then, your sorrows? Again, I ask you: are you satisfied that I am
right?"
Even then she did not stir under the strengthening touch of his sensitive
fingers.
CHAPTER XVI
Said the Most Important Lady, she always knew that there was
something queer about it. "Looks as if the whole of his ultimate objections
to Mr. Maur were rooted in the fact that he knew Maur would probably let it
out."
"My dear! He is not a young man exactly and she was obviously
attracted by Maur. Hence these stripes!"
"My dear! The men! She'd have had them all in tow if she hadn't
suddenly concentrated upon Maur and disgusted everybody. Men are wax
when it comes to a red head and a white skin. Children!"
"There was nothing for it then but for her to go home with Sterne; and
Maur can hardly be blamed for doing his duty by this credulous Station
which has also been suffering under the delusion that all was square and
above-board."
"For the sake of the natives alone, one's got to be so down upon That
Sort of Thing in this country."
"And Diogenes wearing the air of a Trappist monk through the whole
joke!"
"All the same, when it comes to bringing a woman of that stamp into a
respectable God-fearing district, and introducing her to its wives and
daughters under false pretences, it's a bit thick."
"And I shouldn't be sorry to kick out Digby Maur along with him."
"Oh, Maur! His doings cut no ice. But, somehow, we have looked upon
Sterne as a creature with principles, and I, for one, am sorry for this smash-
up."
"Well, none of the crowd were better than they should be. Still, I am
glad that someone has whacked Maur. I can't quite believe in his injured
innocence. If he didn't deserve a licking for this he's simply asked for it
elsewhere, for many moons. But I hate a rotten show of this sort in any
Station. I wish Sterne would hurry up and get out. But wherever they go in
Burma now, people can hardly be expected to call."
* * * * * *
"Bring John and come self Cyprian if possible," ended the telegram.
That they should separate she did not contemplate for a moment. But he
glanced at Thu Daw before raising questioning eyes to her.
She picked up the gurgling golden-skinned atom and smiled at him over
its head.
"I had great ideas of protecting and caring for the woman I loved when I
was twenty-eight," he said.
"And I had great ideas of protecting the man I loved when I was seven,"
said Ferlie.