Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41998837›Full record

ReviewActa physiologica (Oxford, England)2026

Re-Evaluating Hot Mitochondria: Too Slow to Cool.

Jason R Treberg, Ryan J Mailloux

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Acta physiologica (Oxford, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Decoding the Hot-Mitochondrion Paradox.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Jason R TrebergDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5112-7325
Ryan J MaillouxSchool of Human Nutrition, McGill University, Quebec, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3986-9830

Funding

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada RGPIN-2022-03240Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada RGPIN-2024-06035
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimMito Thermo Yellow (MTY) is a mitochondrially targeted fluorophore that shows marked fluorescence quenching with increasing temperature, allowing for interrogating temperature dynamics in the mitochondria of live cells. Here we re-evaluate published MTY fluorescence responses used to argue in favor of the 'hot mitochondria' concept; the assertion that mitochondria operate while maintaining substantial (> 10°C) apparent temperature gradients (ΔT

resultsWe find that MTY fluorescence kinetics are incompatible with the expected dynamics of mitochondrial heat production and diffusion. We further explore the published effects of mitochondrial inhibitors on MTY, and related evidence for ΔT

conclusionTaken as a whole, we conclude MTY and similar tools must be re-evaluated in regard to if they are providing solely information on local temperature and thus are so far inadequate, unto themselves, to demonstrate the existence of hot mitochondria.

Indexed as

Hot TemperatureMitochondriaAnimalsHumansmetabolismmitochondriasubstrate oxidationtemperaturethermodynamics

Identifiers

PMID41998837
PMCPMC13090137

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.