Mitochondrial Permeability Transition pore 'North passage'

The Mitochondrial Permeability Transition or MPTP is a protein pore that is formed in the inner membrane of the mitochondria under certain pathological conditions. Induction of the permeability transition pore can lead to mitochondrial swelling and cell death through apoptosis or necrosis depending on the particular biological setting. The artist has name this illustration 'North Passage' it is her interpretation of what the pore would look like. Its named after the mythical passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific that many sailors of past centuries tried to find. It probably was a navigable route in the middle ages, but with the mini ice age of the 17th century it closed. The MPTP has in the artists mind a similar character, it exists, although nobody has seen it. Cellular level art, paint on silk, digitised.