Targeted Delivery of Radioprotective Agents to Mitochondria

Schematic depicting the inner mitochondrial membrane and the five subunits of the mitochondrial electron transport chain: I, NADH dehydrogenase; II, succinate dehydrogenase; III, cytochrome c reductase; IV, cytochrome c oxidase; V, ATP synthase; CoQ, coenzyme Q; and Cytc, cytochrome c. Also included in the scheme are the putative locations of MnSOD, the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP), and mitochondrial NO synthase (mtNOS). In addition, the scheme shows our hypothesis for irradiation-induced activation of mtNOS, respiratory chain inhibition, and free radical generation. Adapted from (22).