60 5.6: Mitochondrial Swelling and Stress-Induced Mitochondrial Hyperfusion

Mitochondrial morphology can be classified using fluorescent MitoTimer neural stem cell line. The number of mitochondria decreases in the treatment groups which is characteristic of hyperfusion. This can be proven further through additional classification of the mitochondria as either punctuate, swollen, or networked as a percentage of the total mitochondrial area. Hyperfusion is defined by a punctuate to networked mitochondrial transition. The electronic cigarette aerosol and E-liquid groups show a decrease in the number of punctuate mitochondria and increase in networked mitochondria, supporting the idea that electronic cigarettes can cause stress-induced mitochondrial hyperfusion or SIMH (Zahedi et al., 2019).