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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Mar 14.
Published in final edited form as: CNS Spectr. 2009 Aug;14(8 Suppl 7):8–18. doi: 10.1017/s1092852900024901

Figure 1. Structure of mitochondria.

Figure 1

A mitochondrion is compartmentalized with two lipid membranes: the inner mitochondrial membrane and the outer mitochondrial membrane. The inner mitochondrial membrane houses the mitochondrial respiratory chain and provides a highly efficient barrier to ionic flow. In the ETC, complexes I and III leak electrons to oxygen, producing primarily superoxide radicals. Superoxide radicals are dismutated by manganese superoxide dismuase and produce H2O2. In addition, ETC involves H2O2 reducing to H2O and O2 by catalase or glutathione peroxidase accepting electrons donated by NADH and FADH2 and then yielding energy to generate ATP from adenosine diphosphate and inorganic phosphate. Free radicals are also generated by tricarboxylic acid in the matrix.