Mitochondria poor but capacity rich? The paradox of podocyte respiration

Campbell et al. show that podocyte mitochondria, isolated using a cell-specific MITO-Tag approach, possess high intrinsic respiratory capacity despite their low abundance. The study demonstrates that conventional culture conditions suppress mitochondrial respiration and increase oxidative stress, suggesting that current experimental systems may underestimate mitochondrial function in podocytes. The authors provide evidence that mitochondrial respiratory capacity in podocytes declines in male mice with aging, indicating that mitochondria could play a role in age-associated glomerular injury.