Cellular health and function, as we know today, depend on a large extent on mitochondrial function. The essential function of mitochondria is the energy production, more precisely ATP production, via oxidative phosphorylation. Mitochondrial energy production parameters therefore represent important biomarkers. Studies on human cells have mainly been performed on in vitro cell cultures. However, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are particularly suitable for such examinations. That’s why this protocol describes a method to measure key parameters of mitochondrial function in freshly isolated PBMCs with the latest technology, the XF Analyzer. For this ex vivo approach PBMCs are first isolated out of human anticoagulated blood. Next, they are attached to the surface of special

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a reversible process of epithelial cell transdifferentiation into a mesenchymal cell, that enables initiation of cell migration. EMT plays an important role in embryonic development, tissue repair and cancer metastasis. Better understanding of cellular and molecular events during EMT will not only provide novel insights on how mammalian organism develops and how epithelial tissues regenerate, but also can identify novel therapeutic targets for cancer therapy. Here we aim to provide a detailed protocol on how to induce EMT in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) II epithelial cell line and perform immunofluorescent staining on EMT-induced cells.

ATP13A2/PARK9 is a late endo-/lysosomal P5B transport ATPase that is associated with several neurodegenerative disorders. We recently characterized ATP13A2 as a lysosomal polyamine exporter, which sheds light on the molecular identity of the unknown mammalian polyamine transport system. Here, we describe step by step a protocol to measure radiolabeled polyamine transport in reconstituted vesicles from yeast cells overexpressing human ATP13A2. This protocol was developed as part of our recent publication (van Veen et al., 2020) and will be useful for characterizing the transport function of other putative polyamine transporters, such as isoforms of the P5B transport ATPases.