Live-cell assessment of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species using dihydroethidine

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in both physiology and pathology. Mitochondria are an important source of the primary ROS superoxide. However, accurate detection of mitochondrial superoxide especially in living cells remains a difficult task. Here, we describe a method and the pitfalls to detect superoxide in both mitochondria and the entire cell using dihydroethidium (HEt) and live-cell microscopy.