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At least 703 records · Page 39Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Cross-resistance to antitumor diarylsulfonylureas and collateral sensitivity to mitochondrial toxins in a human cell line selected for resistance to the antitumor agent N-(5-indanylsulfonyl)-N'-(4-chlorophenyl)urea.

Diarylsulfonylurea (DSU) antitumor agents represent a new class of oncolytic compounds with an unknown, potentially novel, mechanism of action. At high concentrations of several of these agents, cytotoxicity appears to be a consequence of uncoupling of mitochondria. However, the mechanism of action at pharmacologically achievable concentrations is unknown. To further study these agents a subline of human colon carcinoma, GC3/c1, was selected for resistance to N-(5-indanylsulfonyl)-N'-(4-chlorophenyl)urea (ISCU) (Sulofenur). This clone (designated LYC5) was stably resistant for 2 years in the absence of selection pressure and was characterized for cross-resistance to other antitumor DSU and therapeutically used oncolytic agents. LYC5 was cross-resistant to six of seven DSU analogues examined when cells were exposed to drugs for 7 days. However, the degree of resistance was inversely related to the potency of the individual DSU against the parental GC3/c1 clone. Consequently, against LYC5 cells there was a relatively narrow range for concentrations inhibiting colony formation by 50% (4-fold), compared with that in GC3/c1 cells (12-fold range). With a single exception, each DSU examined caused uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation in isolated mitochondria at 50 microM, and data suggest that cytotoxicity in LYC5 cells may be a consequence of mitochondrial impairment. In contrast, LYC5 cells were collaterally sensitive to the mitochondrial toxins rotenone, antimycin, and oligomycin, by 11.4-, 7.2-, and 36.9-fold respectively. LYC5 cells were also collaterally sensitive to vincristine (7.7-fold), Actinomycin D (5.9-fold), and rhodamine-123 (10.5-fold), agents associated with P-glycoprotein (Pgp)-mediated multidrug resistance (MDR). LYC5 cells were slightly more sensitive to Melphalan and doxorubicin (2.8- and 2.3-fold, respectively) but not to cisplatin or dideazatetrahydrofolic acid. Collateral sensitivity to vincristine and Actinomycin D was consistent with decreased Pgp levels in LYC5 cells. Immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting with anti-Pgp antibodies indicated an 8-fold reduction in Pgp levels in LYC5 cells, relative to expression in parental GC3/c1 cells. Consequently, association of mitochondrial toxins with resistance in MDR KB8-5 cells was examined in the presence or absence of the MDR-reversing agent verapamil. KB8-5 cells had equal or greater sensitivity, compared with parental KB3-1 cells, to rotenone, antimycin, and oligomycin and also to each DSU analogue examined. In addition, verapamil tended to have a protective effect against these mitochondrial toxins.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗
PubMed1994

[Hysteresis behavior of complex I from bovine heart mitochondria: kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of retarded reverse transition from the inactive to active state].

Isolated Complex I exists in two forms. The active form catalyzes the rapid rotenone-sensitive, N-ethylmaleimide-insensitive NADH : Q1 reductase reaction. The inactive form is inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide and catalyzes the rotenone-sensitive ubiquinone reduction with a prominent lag phase. The inactive enzyme is transformed into its active form after rapid reduction by NADH and slow (compared with the steady-state turnover number) oxidation by quinone. The rate of activation is strongly temperature-dependent (the activation energy is 170 kJ/mol) and influenced by pH and divalent cations. The active enzyme is quite stable (hours at 0 degrees C) but it is spontaneously deactivated at high temperature (the activation energy is 245 kJ/mol). The active/inactive transition parameters are qualitatively and quantitatively similar for the isolated and membrane-bound Complex I. The extent of the isolated Complex I activation in the presence of NADH depends on the concentration of the added quinone. The concentration of quinone needed for the half-maximal activation is 10 times less than the KQ1m value in the steady-state NADH : Q1 reductase reaction. The data obtained suggest that the free energy of NADH oxidation in the respiratory chain is partly utilized to maintain the catalytically competent Complex I conformation.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

[The effect of inhibitors of the Q-cycle on cyano-resistant oxidation of malate by rat liver mitochondria in the presence of menadione].

Based on the inhibitor analysis data, it has been assumed that the Q-cycle plays a role in the cyano-resistant malate oxidation induced by menadione (90 microM) in rat liver mitochondria. The extent of involvement of Q-cycle transmitters in the cyano-resistant respiration of mitochondria is determined by the mode of the electron supply into the Q-cycle. In the presence of dicumarol, i.e., under conditions when CoQ and menadione are reduced by NADH-quinone reductase, the bulk of the electrons pass through the o-center of the Q-cycle. Myxothiazole inhibits the respiration by 70-80%, while antimycin--by only 20-30%. In the presence of myxothiazole and antimycin menadione oxidizes cytochrome b. In the presence of rotenone, when menadione is reduced by DT-diaphorase, the rate of cyano-resistant respiration decreases approximately twofold; its sensitivity towards myxothiazole and antimycin drops down to 40%. In the absence of rotenone and dicumarol the Q-cycle does not participate in the cyano-resistant respiration which under these conditions is insensitive either to myxothiazole or to antimycin. It is concluded that the mechanism of cyano-resistant respiration changes with an alteration in the rates of quinones K3 and CoQ reduction. The mechanism of cyano-resistant respiration is also controlled by the medium tonicity. A reduction in the medium tonicity decrease the participation of the Q-cycle and, correspondingly, the sensitivity of the cyano-resistant respiration towards myxothiazole and antimycin.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Pyruvate metabolism in bovine epididymal spermatozoa.

Treating bovine epididymal spermatozoa with rutamycin or rotenone inhibited both respiration and motility supported by endogenous substrates. When oxidative phosphorylation had been blocked with various inhibitors, pyruvate was metabolized to yield ATP and restored motility. Fructose, which is metabolized via glycolysis to yield ATP, was also able to resuscitate the cells. Other substrates tested (lactate, acetate, alpha-ketoglutarate, or glyoxylate) were unable to restore motility in rutamycin-treated cells. In the presence of pyruvate, the phosphorylation uncoupler, carbonylcyanide-p-trifluoromethyoxphenylhydrazone, reduced motility and ATP to common levels in untreated cells or cells treated with rutamycin or rotenone. Pyruvate is thus metabolized to produce ATP by a pathway independent of oxidative phosphorylation associated with the electron transport chain. 5-Methoxyindole-2-carboxylic acid, an inhibitor of lipoyldehydrogenase, prevented the increase of motility and ATP in rutamycin-treated cells, indicating that alpha-keto acid oxidation is involved in the production of ATP from pyruvate when rutamycin is present. With pyruvate present, bongkrekic acid, antimycin A, and anaerobiosis eliminated motility, reduced ATP to low levels, and also significantly reduced the rate of pyruvate metabolism. Acetate was produced from pyruvate only when cellular ATP concentrations were low. Decreases in free carnitine concentrations showed that pyruvate initially used was converted to acetylcarnitine. The results indicate that the intramitochondrial lactate dehydrogenase X, which is unique to spermatozoa, allows the NADH resulting from pyruvate oxidation to reduce other pyruvate molecules to lactate. Pyruvate thus competes with, and can substitute for, the NADH dehydrogenase of the electron transport chain. Pyruvate rapidly repletes the acetylcarnitine pool under a variety of conditions.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of lonidamine on the mitochondrial potential in situ in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.

The effect of lonidamine (LND) on the mitochondrial membrane potential, in situ, of Ehrlich ascites tumour cells was investigated by using the safranine method. LND, because of its ability to inhibit electron transport from endogenous substrates to respiratory carriers, induced a de-energization of mitochondria. Addition of glucose to rotenone-treated cells induced mitochondrial membrane potential as shown by the spectral shift similar to that which occurred upon energization of mitochondria. The build-up of membrane potential in rotenone-treated cells was due to glycolytically-generated ATP because the response to glucose was abolished by LND which inhibited the glycolysis of neoplastic cells by affecting the mitochondria bound hexokinase.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

[3H]dihydrorotenone binding to NADH: ubiquinone reductase (complex I) of the electron transport chain: an autoradiographic study.

Abnormalities of mitochondrial energy metabolism may play a role in normal aging and certain neurodegenerative disorders. In this regard, complex I of the electron transport chain has received substantial attention, especially in Parkinson's disease. The conventional method for studying complex I has been quantitation of enzyme activity in homogenized tissue samples. To enhance the anatomic precision with which complex I can be examined, we developed an autoradiographic assay for the rotenone site of this enzyme. [3H]dihydrorotenone ([3H]DHR) binding is saturable (KD = 15-55 nM) and specific, and Hill slopes of 1 suggest a single population of binding sites. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) enhances binding 4- to 80-fold in different brain regions (EC50 = 20-40 microM) by increasing the density of recognition sites (Bmax). Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate also increases binding, but NAD+ does not. In skeletal muscle, heart, and kidney, binding was less affected by NADH. [3H]DHR binding is inhibited by rotenone (IC50 = 8-20 nM), meperidine (IC50 = 34-57 microM), amobarbitol (IC50 = 375-425 microM), and MPP+ (IC50 = 4-5 mM), consistent with the potencies of these compounds in inhibiting complex I activity. Binding is heterogeneously distributed in brain with the density in gray matter structures varying more than 10-fold. Lesion studies suggest that a substantial portion of binding is associated with nerve terminals. [3H]DHR autoradiography is the first quantitative method to examine complex I with a high degree of anatomic precision. This technique may help to clarify the potential role of complex I dysfunction in normal aging and disease.

1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Cyanide insensitive respiration of Candida lipolytica yeasts].

The effect of rotenone, antimycin A, oligomycin, 2,4,-DNP, and various subtrates on the appearance of cyanide-resistant respiration of Candida lipolytica yeast was studied. Rotenone inhibited the development of cyanide-resistant respiration, but did not prevent its origination. Antimycin A and oligomycin increased the rate of the appearance of cyanide-resistant respiration. If the resting yeast culture was incubated with 2,4-DNP, glucose, or glycerol, the development of the alternative pathway of electron transport was inhibited. Such substrates as alpha-glycerophosphate, citrate, and D,L-lactate had no effect on the time of appearance of cyanide-resistant respiration. Therefore, in the stationary growth phase, an alternative, cyanide-resistant pathway of electron transport results from the inhibition of the rate of electron transport in the respiration chain.

Antimycin A↗
PubMed1976

A respiration-deficient Chinese hamster cell line with a defect in NADH-coenzyme Q reductase.

We have recently described a Chinese hamster cell line with a greatly reduced rate of respiration. In this report we conclude that the defects is in NADH-coenzyme Q reductase (NADH oxidase), the first part of the electron transport chain. The conclusion is based on the following observations. (a) In this and in the earlier report we determined that the relevant enzymes of the Krebs cycle are present and active. (b) Oxygen consumption by isolated mitochondria is normal when driven by succinate and alpha-glycerolphosphate. (c) Difference spectra between reduced and oxidized forms indicate that all cytochromes are present and functional. (d) In contrast, substrates such as malate, glutamate, alpha-ketoglutarate, and isocitrate which generate NADH do not stimulate oxygen consumption in mutant mitochondria. (e) A direct assay of the rotenone-sensitive NADH oxidase in Lubrol-treated mitochondria from mutant cells revealed less than one-tenth of the activity when compared with wild type mitochondria. (f) The treatment of wild type cells with rotenone, a specific inhibitor of NADH-CoQ reductase, yielded an exact phenocopy of the mutant by several criteria. This is the first report of a respiration-deficient mammalian cell mutant in tissue culture.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1998

Electron transport-mediated wasteful consumption of NADH promotes the lethal response of U937 cells to tert-butylhydroperoxide.

The toxicity of a short-term exposure to tert-butylhydroperoxide in U937 cells was markedly reduced by chemically or experimentally induced respiratory deficiency. Rotenone mitigated the lethal effects of the hydroperoxide over the same concentration-range in which the complex I inhibitor inhibited oxygen utilization. U937 cells that were made respiration deficient by growing them in the presence of either chloramphenicol or ethidium bromide, were in both circumstances highly resistant to tert-butylhydroperoxide. The improved survival was not a direct consequence of the absence of electron transport, but rather was attributable to the large amounts of NADH which accumulate in the mitochondria of chemically hypoxic or respiration-deficient cells. Indeed, the toxicity elicited by tert-butylhydroperoxide was also abolished by supplementation with either of two different NADH-linked substrates, namely pyruvate or beta-hydroxybutyrate. Accumulation of intramitochondrial NADH, and the resulting cytoprotective effects, was associated with prevention of the loss of nonprotein sulphydryls and mitochondrial membrane potential. Neither rotenone nor pyruvate reduced the toxicity of tert-butylhydroperoxide in thiol-depleted cells. Taken together, these results indicate that depletion of mitochondrial NADH is a critical event in the cytotoxic response to tert-butylhydroperoxide since this pyridine nucleotide prevents mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death caused by the hydroperoxide. As a consequence, in hydroperoxide-treated cells electron transport is highly detrimental since it consumes mitochondrial NADH.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparative efficacy of different insecticides in the treatment of cattle hypodermosis in north-eastern Algeria.

The efficacy of different drugs (microdose of ivermectin, doramectin and moxidectin at the recommended doses and topically applied rotenone) against the first, second and third instar larvae of Hypoderma bovis and H. lineatum was studied in cattle in the El Tarf area (northeastern Algeria). Before performing the efficacy trials, the life cycle of the warble fly was studied at the slaughterhouse between July 1993 and June 1994. This survey revealed that both species of warble fly were present in this area: L1 larvae of H. lineatum were found around the oesophagus between August and January, whereas L1 larvae of H. bovis were observed around the spine from November until March. Warbles were present under the skin from the end of October until May. The nymphal phase took place between February and May. As a result of this study the authors recommend applying chemoprophylaxis (treatment against L1) in September. This work also confirmed the excellent efficacy of avermectins and milbemycins against the three instar larvae of Hypoderma sp. under the field conditions prevailing in Algeria. Rotenone has a lower efficacy (95%) which is limited to the second and third instar larvae. However, this drug appears useful in dairy cattle.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1996

Inhibition of NADH oxidation by 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium analogs as the basis for the prediction of the inhibitory potency of novel compounds.

Inhibition of NADH dehydrogenase (Complex I) of the mitochondrial respiratory chain by 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) and its analogs results in dopaminergic cell death. In the present study, the inhibition of mitochondrial respiration and of NADH oxidation in inverted inner membrane preparations by the oxidation products of N-methyl-stilbazoles (N-methyl-styrylpyridiniums) are characterized. These nonflexible MPP+ analogs were found to be considerably more potent inhibitors than the corresponding MPP+ derivatives. The IC50 values for these compounds and previously published figures for MPP+ analogs were then used to select a computer model based on structural parameters to predict the inhibitory potency of other compounds that react at the "rotenone site" in Complex I. A series of 12 novel inhibitors different in structure from the basic set were used to test the predictive capacity of the models selected. Despite major structural differences between the novel test compounds and the MPP+ and styrylpyridinium analogs on which the models were based, substantial agreement was found between the predicted and experimentally determined IC50 values. The value of this technique lies in the potential for the prediction of the inhibitory potency of other drugs and toxins which block mitochondrial respiration by interacting at the rotenone sites.

1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium↗
PubMed2006

Oxygen sensing in neuroepithelial and adrenal chromaffin cells.

Oxygen sensing and initiation of appropriate physiological responses to hypoxia are crucial for survival. The molecular identity of the sensor has generally sparked considerable interest and controversy in O2-sensitive cells. In mammals, pulmonary neuroepithelial bodies (NEBs) and adrenal chromaffin cells (AMCs) are O2 sensitive, particularly during the transition from intrauterine to air-breathing life. In NEBs, there is good evidence that the O2 sensor is a plasma membrane-bound NADPH oxidase which during hypoxia, signals K+ channel inhibition, membrane depolarization and neurosecretion via changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS) (e.g. H2O2). Accordingly, hypoxic sensitivity is lost in NEBs from transgenic mice deficient in the gp91(phox) subunit of NADPH oxidase; it is, however, retained in neonatal AMCs from these transgenic mice. A search for the O2 sensor in neonatal rat AMCs suggests a role for the mitochondrial electron transport chain. For example, the complex I blocker, rotenone (1 microM), mimics hypoxia in causing K+ channel inhibition and ATP secretion, and occludes hypoxic sensitivity. The evidence is consistent with hypoxia and rotenone acting via a decrease in ROS. In contrast, the complex IV blocker cyanide (2 mM) did not mimic the effects of hypoxia. We propose thatchanges in ROS serve as a common link between the O2 sensor and secretion in perinatal NEBs and chromaffin cells. However, the subcellular localization of the O2 sensor appears to be different between these two cell types.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1988

Deficiency of subunits of Complex I and mitochondrial encephalomyopathy.

Enzymic activities of the respiratory chain and content of immunochemically detectable subunits in NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex I) were measured in mitochondria from the skeletal muscles of 4 patients with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and strokelike episodes (MELAS). The rotenone-sensitive NADH-cytochrome c reductase activity was extremely decreased, ranging from 0% to 27% of the control value. In all patients, the content of subunits of Complex I was also reduced in parallel with the rotenone-sensitive NADH-cytochrome c reductase activity. It is suggested that the variation in the degree of deficiency of Complex I subunits could explain the clinical heterogeneity of patients with MELAS.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Correlation of increased intraacrosomal pH with the hamster sperm acrosome reaction.

This study describes investigations of the importance of intraacrosomal pH in the hamster sperm acrosome reaction (AR). Washed cauda epididymal sperm were capacitated in vitro in a medium containing 2 mM Ca2+, 144 mM Na+, and 3 mM K+. Such sperm underwent a significant increase in the number of AR within 10 min after the addition of the Mg2+-ATPase (adenosine triphosphatase) inhibitors DCCD (20 microM) or NBD-Cl (10 microM) or the proton ionophore FCCP (6 micrograms/ml) at 3.5 hr of incubation or after addition of HN4Cl (3 mM) at 4 hr of incubation. Addition of the mitochondrial electron transport inhibitor rotenone (2.5 microM) at 3.5 hr or of NaCl (3 mM) or KCl (3 mM) at 4 hr did not stimulate AR over control levels, suggesting that the stimulation of AR by the other compounds was not directly due to depletion of acrosomal adenosine triphosphate (ATP) or alteration of the acrosomal transmembrane potential. The AR also was not stimulated by either DCCD or FCCP added prior to 3 hr of incubation of sperm, whereas both compounds were increasingly effective at stimulating AR with increasing length of preincubation of sperm before the addition of the test compounds. The intraacrosomal pH of sperm incubated in low [K+] (0.6-0.9 mM) for 3.5 hr rose by at least one pH unit (as measured with the fluorescent dye 9-aminoacridine) within 15-30 min after raising extracellular [K+] to 4.2-4.5 mM. The pH rise occurred even in the presence of the Ca2+-chelator EGTA (2 mM). Either FCCP (8 micrograms/ml) or DCCD (20 microM), but not rotenone (2.5 microM), plus K+ (3.6 mM), raised the intraacrosomal pH of sperm incubated for 3 hr in low [K+] within 10 min after addition. No pH rise occurred in the absence of additional K+. These results demonstrate that the intraacrosomal pH of the hamster sperm becomes more alkaline in a process not requiring high concentrations of external Ca2+, but requiring K+. The results of this and previous studies lead us to suggest here that the intraacrosomal pH rise may be mediated via a change in K+ and H+ permeability of sperm head membranes, which allows K+ influx and H+ efflux, and via inhibition of an acrosomal Mg2+-ATPase proton pump. We propose that the permeability changes and the consequent alkalinization of the acrosomal interior are important steps in late capacitation and/or the mammalian AR.

Acrosome↗
PubMed2003

Variations in spare electron transport chain capacity: The answer to an old riddle?

Several neurological diseases involve focal injury of specific brain structures. Poisons of the electron transport chain complexes (ETCC) can also produce selective injury of brain structures when given systemically and have been implicated in the development of neurological disease. Why ETCC poisons damage particular brain regions is unclear. Calculations of the relative ETCC expression level to glucose utilization rate (GUR) ratio from published observations here reveal that a low ETCC/GUR ratio predisposes a brain structure to injury by a poison of that complex. While GUR can rise with increased neuronal activity, ETCC expression is fixed in the short term. A high ETCC/GUR therefore represents surplus ETCC capacity, allowing for increased ATP generation with short-term increases in demand. A low ETCC/GUR indicates the opposite and will lead to energy failure when the specific ETCC is poisoned. These observations may explain why cyanide, a specific ETCC (IV) inhibitor, can produce selective injury of white matter, which has the lowest ETCC (IV)/GUR found in the brain. They are also consistent with the selective damage of the striatum produced by poisons such as rotenone, a form of injury implicated in Parkinson's disease. The striatum has a low ETCC (I)/GUR ratio, whereas rotenone is a selective ETCC (I) inhibitor.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

New evaluation of potential methylmercury scavengers.

A biological assay was developed to evaluate rapidly the relative efficacy of marketed and experimental mercurial scavengers. Rat liver mitochondrial protein (1.0 mg) was titrated against methyl-mercuric chloride to the inhibitory level of mitochondrial respiration. Respiration induced by adenosine 5'-diphosphate with succinate (plus rotenone) as the substrate was inhibited consistently by 20.7 +/- 3.9 nmoles of methylmercury/mg of protein. Adenosine 5'-diphosphate-stimulated respiration (State 3) was restored with dimercaprol, penicillamine, and cysteine but not with serine. The antagonists glutathione, 3-mercapto-propionic acid, 2-mercaptoethanol, dithiothreitol, thioglucose, mercaptosuccinic acid, and thiosalicylic acid and mercaptosuccinic acid. Sodium sulfide, thioacetamide, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid were completely inactive. Substitution of glutamate (plus malate) for succinate (plus rotenone) as the substrate did not alter the responses significantly. The rat liver mitochondrial assay provides preliminary information about the efficacy and toxicity of water-soluble thiols. Investigations utilizing encapsulated water- and lipid-soluble mercaptans are in progress.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Characterization of the cellular reduction of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT): subcellular localization, substrate dependence, and involvement of mitochondrial electron transport in MTT reduction.

The MTT assay, which is widely used to measure cell proliferation and to screen for anticancer drugs, is based on reduction of the tetrazolium salt, MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) by actively growing cells to produce a blue formazan product. Despite broad acceptance of this assay, neither the subcellular localization, nor the biochemical events involved in MTT reduction are known. Mitochondrial involvement in MTT reduction has been inferred from studies with respiratory inhibitors using succinate as a substrate, but the contribution of this activity to overall cellular MTT reduction is unknown. Using the bone marrow-derived cell line, 32D, we investigated the subcellular localization of MTT reduction using succinate, NADH, and NADPH as substrates. At optimum substrate concentrations, MTT reduction by whole cell homogenates was greatest with NADH and least with succinate, which accounted for less than 10% of the combined activities. Using succinate, 96% of recoverable MTT reducing activity was in particulate fractions of the cell and 77% in the mitochondrial and light mitochondrial/lysosomal fractions. When NADH and NADPH were used as substrates, increased amounts of MTT reducing activity were associated with soluble fractions of the cell and association with mitochondrial fractions was less pronounced. To further characterize MTT reduction by the mitochondrial fraction, respiratory chain inhibitors were used to explore involvement of electron transport in MTT reduction. Succinate-dependent mitochondrial MTT reduction was inhibited by 80% with chlorpromazine, 70% by antimycin A, and 85-90% by thenoyltrifluoracetone (TTFA), but inhibition was not observed with rotenone at < or = 2 microM, Amytal, or azide. These results suggest that when succinate is used as an electron donor, 70-80% of mitochondrial MTT reduction occurs subsequent to transfer of electrons from cytochrome c to cytochrome oxidase, but prior to the point of azide inhibition. In contrast to succinate, NADPH-dependent mitochondrial MTT reduction was not affected by any of the respiratory inhibitors tested, and NADH-dependent reduction was only inhibited by chlorpromazine (40-50% at plateau concentrations). These results suggest that most cellular MTT reduction occurs outside the mitochondrial inner membrane and involves NADH and NADPH-dependent mechanisms that are insensitive to respiratory chain inhibitors. This interpretation is supported by whole cell studies in which rotenone failed to affect basal and interleukin-3-stimulated MTT reduction at times up to 4 h but strongly inhibited DNA synthesis. We conclude that most cellular reduction of MTT occurs extramitochondrially and probably involves the pyridine nucleotide cofactors NADH and NADPH.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

An evaluation of the measurement of the activities of complexes I-IV in the respiratory chain of human skeletal muscle mitochondria.

The measurement of individual respiratory chain complexes is an important component of the investigation of diseases due to mitochondrial dysfunction. We have evaluated assays which measure complexes I to IV in human skeletal muscle mitochondria and in addition optimized these assays to provide sensitive and reliable diagnostic techniques, particularly in situations where a partial interruption at a single complex needs to identified. Using several established methods of membrane disruption we have found that optimal activities of complexes I and II are obtained by freeze-thawing the mitochondria in hypotonic potassium phosphate buffer, whereas complex III and IV activities are markedly increased by the addition of the detergent n-dodecyl-beta-D-maltoside. Complex I activity is measured in the presence of 2.5 mg.ml-1 bovine serum albumin, which increases rotenone sensitivity, and we have shown that NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase makes an important contribution to the rotenone-insensitive NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase activity. Complex II activity is measured after preincubation of the mitochondrial fraction with succinate to fully activate the complex. Complex I and III activities are dependent upon the length of the isoprenoid chain of the ubiquinone and ubiquinol, respectively. These assays have been used to establish a control range.

Cytochromes b5↗