Correlative Light and Transmission Electron Microscopy Showed Details of Mitophagy by Mitochondria Quality Control in Propionic Acid Treated SH-SY5Y Cell

Propionic acid is a metabolite of the microbiome and can be transported to the brain. Previous data show that propionic acid changes mitochondrial biogenesis in SH-SY5Y cells and induces abnormal autophagy in primary hippocampal neurons. Maintaining mitochondrial function is key to homeostasis in neuronal cells, and mitophagy is the selective autophagy involved in regulating mitochondrial quality. Monitoring mitophagy though light microscopy or conventional transmission electron microscopy separately is insufficient because phases of mitophagy, including autophagosome and autolysosome in nano-resolution, are critical for studies of function. Therefore, we used correlative light and electron microscopy to investigate mitochondrial quality in SH-SY5Y cells after propionic acid treatment to use the advantages of both techniques. We showed, with this approach, that propionic acid induces mitophagy associated with mitochondrial quality.