Figure 1.

Generation of cybrid cell lines. Tumor or immortalized cell lines are grown in the presence of ethidium bromide, which effectively eliminates functional mtDNA to result in a ρ0 cell line. ρ0 cells are then fused with a patient’s platelets, which contain mitochondria but not nuclei. This creates cytoplasmic hybrid (cybrid) cells that can be isolated and expanded. The expanded cybrid cell cultures are biochemically analyzed. Differences in function between cell lines mostly likely arise through differences in their mtDNA.