Figure 3.

Effective tafazzin knockdown leads to altered cardiolipin profiles during development in TAZKD mice. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of TAZKD mouse embryos shows tafazzin can be knocked down effectively during development (A). Induction from the start of gestation leads to approximately ∼80% reduction in taz mRNA by E13.5 ([A], left-hand bars). In addition, 3 days' induction (starting at E7.5) with doxycycline leads to the same degree of taz knockdown by E10.5 ([A], right-hand bars]. MALDI mass spectrometry [B] shows altered cardiolipin spectra in TAZKD E13.5 embryonic mouse hearts and newborn mouse livers; TAZKD tissues show a characteristic increase in the ratio of monolysocardiolipin species (MLCL) to cardiolipin (CL), also demonstrated by quantitative analysis of cardiolipin profiles (C). In E13.5 heart, ratios were obtained from molecular species at m/z 1188 (MLCL):1448 (CL), and in newborn liver, at 1166 (MLCL):1450 (CL). TAZKD indicates tafazzin knockdown mice; RT-PCR, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.