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PubMed1968

Electron transport in mitochondria isolated from the flagellate Polytomella caeca.

1. Mitochondria isolated from Polytomella caeca contain cytochromes b, c+c(1) and a+a(3) and several flavoprotein species. 2. Electron transport is inhibited by antimycin A, rotenone, piericidin A and cyanide. 3. Spectral data indicate that antimycin A inhibits the reoxidation of reduced cytochrome b. 4. Various types of flavoprotein are characterized by simultaneous spectrophotometric and fluorimetric measurements on antimycin A-inhibited preparations and also by their absorption and fluorescence-emission spectra. 5. The rotenone-sensitive site lies between the two flavoproteins of the respiratory chain, designated FpD1 and FpD2. 6. Other flavoprotein species detected include those involved in the oxidation of succinate and externally added NADH; a large proportion of mitochondrial flavine is reduced by dithionite but not by known respiratory substrates. 7. The kinetics of flavoprotein and cytochrome reactions were studied.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1972

The utilization of iron and its complexes by mammalian mitochondria.

Sonicated mitochondria catalyse the reduction of ferric salts, and the subsequent incorporation of Fe(2+) into haem, when provided with a reducing substrate such as succinate or NADH. The rate of haem synthesis was low under aerobic conditions and, after a short lag period, accelerated once anaerobic conditions were achieved; it was insensitive to antimycin A. The lag period was decreased by preincubating the mitochondria with NADH and Fe(3+). Newly formed Fe(2+) was autoxidized rapidly and the consequent O(2) uptake was measured with an oxygen electrode to determine the rate of enzymic formation of Fe(2+) from FeCl(3); this reaction was rapid in sonicated mitochondria provided with NADH or succinate and was insensitive to antimycin A. The reaction was very slow in intact mitochondria, suggesting a permeability barrier to Fe(3+) ions. This system was used to test the permeability of the mitochondrial membrane to various iron complexes of biological importance. Of the compounds tested only ferrioxamine G appeared to penetrate readily and the iron of this complex was reduced when intact mitochondria were supplied with succinate or NADH-linked substrates. The reduction was insensitive to rotenone or antimycin A. Both ferrioxamine G and ferrioxamine B were, however, reduced by particles. The membrane fraction of sonicated mitochondria was necessary for the reduction. The rate of ferrioxamine B reduction by sonicated mitochondria was measured by a dual-wavelength spectrophotometric assay and was found to be stimulated in conditions where the Fe(2+) produced was utilized for haem synthesis. The addition of FeCl(3) to anaerobic particles caused an oxidation of cytochrome b when this region of the respiratory chain was isolated by treatment with rotenone and antimycin A. These results suggest that the reduction of ferric iron and its complexes occurs inside the inner mitochondrial membrane in proximity to ferrochelatase. Possible sites for this reduction are the flavoproteins, succinate and NADH dehydrogenase.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

The mechanism of transmembrane delta muH+ generation in mitochondria by cytochrome c oxidase.

In rat liver mitochondria treated with rotenone, N-ethylmaleimide or oligomycin the expected alkalinization caused by proton consumption for aerobic oxidation of ferrocyanide was delayed with respect to ferrocyanide oxidation, unless carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone was present. 2. When valinomycin or valinomycin plus antimycin were also present, ferricyanide, produced by oxidation of ferrocyanide, was re-reduced by hydrogenated endogenous reductants. Under these circumstances the expected net proton consumption caused by ferrocyanide oxidation was preceded by transient acidification. It is shown that re-reduction of formed ferricyanide and proton release derive from rotenone- and antimycin-resistant oxidation of endogenous reductants through the proton-translocating segments of the respiratory chain on the substrate side of cytochrome c. The number of protons released per electron flowing to ferricyanide varied, depending on the experimental conditions, from 3.6 to 1.5. 3. The antimycin-insensitive re-reduction of ferricyanide and proton release from mitochondria were strongly depressed by 2-n-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide. This shows that the ferricyanide formed accepts electrons passing through the protonmotive segments of the respiratory chain at the level of cytochrome c and/or redox components of the cytochrome b-c1 complex situated on the oxygen side of the antimycin-inhibition site. Dibromothymoquinone depressed and duroquinol enhanced, in the presence of antimycin, the proton-release process induced by ferrocyanide respiration. Both quinones enhanced the rate of scalar proton production associated with ferrocyanide respiration, but lowered the number of protons released per electron flowing to the ferricyanide formed. 4. Net proton consumption caused by aerobic oxidation of exogenous ferrocytochrome c by antimycin-supplemented bovine heart mitochondria was preceded by scalar proton release, which was included in the stoicheiometry of 1 proton consumed per mol of ferrocytochrome c oxidized. This scalar proton production was associated with transition of cytochrome c from the reduced to the oxidized form and not to electron flow along cytochrome c oxidase. 5. It is concluded that cytochrome c oxidase only mediates vectorial electron flow from cytochrome c at the outer side to protons that enter the oxidase from the matrix side of the membrane. In addition to this consumption of protons the oxidase does not mediate vectorial proton translocation.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Effects of ionophores and metabolic inhibitors on the mitochondrial membrane potential within isolated hepatocytes as measured with the safranine method.

A difference spectrum with a peak of absorbance at 526nm appears slowly upon addition of valinomycin or KCN in combination with oligomycin to a hepatocyte suspension in the presence of safranine. When the cells are incubated at 37 degrees C in a medium containing safranine, a slow decrease in the absorbance occurs at the wavelength pair 524-484 nm. The change in absorbance is completed within 20-30 min after additions of cells to a medium containing safranine. At this time the safranine concentration of the outer medium is considerably decreased. The safranine signal is completely reversed by valinomycin, carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-hydrazone or KCN in combination with oligomycin. None of these treatments have any immediate effect on cellular ATP concentrations or the 36Cl- equilibrium potential across the plasma membrane. In the presence of iodoacetate a slow reversal of the trace can be induced upon addition of KCN, but not of oligomycin alone. Rotenone, in combination with oligomycin, does not reverse the safranine signal except when both KF and iodoacetate are present, in which case a slow reversal is seen. A subsequent addition of duroquinone brings back the signal to the same level as in the presence of rotenone alone. The results indicate that the spectral response of safranine in the presence of isolated hepatocytes is a result of a slow penetration of safranine into intracellular mitochondria, where aggregation of safranine molecules occurs as a response to the mitochondrial membrane potential.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Oxygen metabolism of mammalian spermatozoa. Generation of hydrogen peroxide by rabbit epididymal spermatozoa.

Rabbit spermatozoa from the cauda epididymis produced 0.7-0.8nmol of H(2)O(2)/min per 10(8) cells at cell concentrations below 10(7) cells/ml with linear dependence on cell concentration. Above 2 x 10(7) cells/ml, the rate again became linear with cell concentration but decreased to 0.1-0.2nmol/min per 10(8) cells. Spermatozoa treated with amphotericin B, which makes the plasma membrane highly permeable to low-molecular-weight compounds, showed a similar dependence of H(2)O(2) production rate on cell concentration; below 10(7) cells/ml the rate was 0.3-0.4nmol/min per 10(8) cells; above 2 x 10(7) cells/ml, the rate was 0.1-0.2nmol/min per 10(8) cells. Hypo-osmotically treated rabbit epididymal spermatozoa, a preparation useful for studying mitochondrial function in sperm [Keyhani & Storey (1973) Biochim. Biophys. Acta305, 557-565] produced 0.1-0.2nmol/min per 10(8) cells in the absence of added substrates. The dependence of rate on cell concentration was linear from 10(7) to 2.2 x 10(8) cells/ml. This endogenous rate was unaffected by rotenone, but stimulated 4-fold by antimycin A. Addition of the mitochondrial substrates lactate plus malate increased the rate of H(2)O(2) production to 0.3nmol/min per 10(8) cells. The decreased rate of H(2)O(2) production observed with intact sperm at high cell concentrations is attributed to reaction of H(2)O(2) with the cells, possibly with the plasma membrane, which is lost after hypo-osmotic treatment. Rabbit spermatozoa have glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase activities, but these seem to play little role in removal of H(2)O(2) generated. The rate at low cell concentration is taken to be the unperturbed rate. The sources of H(2)O(2) production in rabbit spermatozoa have been tentatively resolved into a low-molecular-weight component, lost after amphotericin treatment, a mitochondrial component and a rotenone-insensitive component that has not been identified.

Amphotericin B↗
PubMed1981

Evidence for the extracellular reduction of ferricyanide by rat liver. A trans-plasma membrane redox system.

1. Reduction of ferricyanide by the isolated perfused rat liver and by isolated rat hepatocytes was studied. 2. Ferricyanide was reduced to ferrocyanide by the perfused liver at a linear rate of 0.22mumol/min per g of liver. Ferricyanide was not taken up by the liver and the perfusate concentration of ferricyanide+ferrocyanide remained constant throughout the perfusion. Perfusate samples from livers perfused without ferricyanide did not reduce ferricyanide. 3. Isolated hepatocytes reduced ferricyanide in a biphasic manner. The initial rate of 2.3mumol/min per g of cells proceeded for approx. 3min and derived from low-affinity sites (apparent K(m)>1.3mm). The secondary rate of 0.29mumol/min per g of cells was maintained for the remainder of the incubation and derived from higher affinity sites (apparent K(m)0.13mm). Disruption of the cells resulted in an increase in the low-affinity rate and a decrease in the high-affinity rate. 4. Ferrocyanide was oxidized by isolated hepatocytes but not by perfused liver. The apparent K(m) for ferrocyanide oxidation by hepatocytes was 1.3mm. 5. Oxidized cytochrome c was reduced by isolated hepatocytes in the presence of 1mm-KCN but at a rate less than that of the reduction of ferricyanide. 6. Properties of the ferricyanide-reducing activities of intact hepatocytes and the perfused liver were examined. The low-affinity rate, present only in cell and broken cell preparations, was inhibited by 1mum-rotenone and 0.5mm-ferrocyanide, and stimulated by 0.1mm-KCN. The mitochondrial substrate, succinate, also stimulated this rate. The perfused liver showed only a high-affinity activity for ferricyanide reduction. This activity was also present in liver cells and was unaffected by rotenone, antimycin A, KCN, NaN(3), or p-hydroxymercuribenzoate but was inhibited by 2.6mm-CaCl(2), 2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline-N-oxide and ferrocyanide. Overall, these results are consistent with the occurrence of a trans-plasma membrane redox system of liver that reduces extracellular ferricyanide to ferrocyanide. The reduction process shows properties which are similar to that of the NADH:ferricyanide oxidoreductase found in isolated liver plasma membranes but different from that of mitochondria.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The NADH oxidase system (external) of muscle mitochondria and its role in the oxidation of cytoplasmic NADH.

An exo-NADH oxidase system [NADH oxidase system (external)], effecting intact-mitochondrial oxidation of added NADH, was studied in pigeon heart mitochondria. Breast muscle mitochondria showed an equal specific activity of the system. The exo-NADH oxidase activity (200 micron mol of NADH/min per g of protein) equalled two-thirds of the State-3 respiratory activity with malate + pyruvate or one-seventh of the total NADH oxidase activity of heart mitochondria. The activity was not caused by use of proteinase in the preparation procedure and all measured parameters were very reproducible from preparation to preparation. The activity is therefore most likely not due to preparation artefacts. The exo-NADH oxidase system is present in all mitochondria in the preparation and is not confined to a subpopulation. The system reduced all cytochrome anaerobically and direct interaction with all cytochrome oxidase was demonstrated by interdependent cyanide inhibition. The exo-NADH oxidase system seems to be located at the outer surface of the mitochondrial inner membrane because, for instance, only this system was rapidly inhibited by rotenone, and ferricyanide could act as acceptor in the rotenone-inhibited system (reductase activity = 20 times oxidase activity). In the presence of antimycin, added NADH reduced only a part of the b-cytochromes. Freezing and thawing the mitochondria, one of the methods used for making them permeable to NADH, destroyed this functional compartmentation. The characteristics of the exo-NADH oxidase system and the malate-aspartate shuttle are compared and the evidence for the shuttle's function in heart in vivo is re-evaluated. It is proposed that oxidation of cytoplasmic NADH in red muscles primarily is effected by the exo-NADH oxidase system.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Estimation of peroxisomal beta-oxidation in rat heart by a direct assay of acyl-CoA oxidase.

The contribution of peroxisomes to palmitate beta-oxidation in rat heart was estimated by either inhibiting mitochondrial beta-oxidation or measuring the activity of acyl-CoA oxidase. When respiratory inhibitors such as KCN or antimycin plus rotenone, or inhibitors of mitochondrial fatty acid uptake such as 2-tetradecylglycidic acid or 2-bromopalmitate, were used, degrees of inhibitions ranging from 24% to 87% were observed for palmitate beta-oxidation by a rat heart homogenate. Although the oxidation of palmitoyl-L-carnitine by coupled rat heart mitochondria was almost completely (94%) inhibited by KCN, the inhibition by antimycin plus rotenone was incomplete (77%) and was stimulated by L-carnitine. A direct assay of acyl-CoA oxidase, based on the spectrophotometric measurement at 300 nm of 2,4-decadienoyl-CoA formation from 4-trans-decenoyl-CoA, was evaluated with the aim of obtaining reliable values for the activity of this enzyme, which is presumed to catalyse the rate-limiting step of peroxisomal beta-oxidation. Activities determined by use of this assay were much higher than activities obtained by a coupled assay [Small, Burdett and Connock (1985) Biochem. J. 227, 205-210] commonly used to measure the activity of acyl-CoA oxidase. However, both methods yielded the same relative activities with different tissue homogenates. Based on an estimated palmitoyl-CoA oxidase activity of 0.3 nmol/min per mg of protein, the contribution of peroxisomes to palmitate beta-oxidation in a rat heart homogenate would optimally be 4%, and most likely is several-fold lower.

Acyl-CoA Oxidase↗
PubMed1996

Reduction pathway of cis-5 unsaturated fatty acids in intact rat-liver and rat-heart mitochondria: assessment with stable-isotype-labelled substrates.

Besides the conventional isomerase-mediated pathway, unsaturated fatty acids with old-numbered double bonds are also metabolized by reduction pathways with NADPH as cofactor. The relative contributions of these pathways were measured in intact rat-liver and rat-heart mitochondria with a novel stable isotope tracer technique. A mixture of equal amounts of unlabelled cis-5-enoyl-CoA and 13C4-labelled acyl-CoA of equal chain lengths was incubated with mitochondria. The isotope distribution of 3-hydroxy fatty acids produced from the first cycle of beta-oxidation was analysed with selected ion monitoring by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. 3-Hydroxy fatty acids produced from the reduction pathway of unsaturated fatty acids were unlabelled (m + 0) whereas those produced from saturated fatty acids were labelled (m + 4). The m + 0 content serves to indicate the extent of reduction pathway. Rotenone treatment was used to switch the pathway completely to reduction. The extent of m + 0 enrichment in untreated mitochondria normalized to the m + 0 enrichment of rotenone-treated mitochondria was the percentage of reduction pathway. With this technique, cis-4-decenoate was found to be metabolized completely by the reduction pathway in both liver and heart mitochondria. cis-5-Dodecenoate was metabolized essentially by the reduction pathway in liver mitochondria, but only to 75% in heart mitochondria. When the chain length was extended to cis-5-tetradecenoate, the reduction pathway in liver mitochondria decreased to 86% and that in heart mitochondria to 65%. The effects of carnitine, clofibrate and other conditions on the reduction pathway were also studied. Enrichments of the label on saturated fatty acids and 3-hydroxy fatty acids indicated that the major pathway of reduction was not by the direct reduction of the cis-5 double bond. Instead, it is most probably by a pathway that does not involve forming a reduced saturated fatty acid first.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Na+ translocation by complex I (NADH:quinone oxidoreductase) of Escherichia coli.

Following on from our previous discovery of Na+ pumping by the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) of Klebsiella pneumoniae, we show here that complex I from Escherichia coli is a Na+ pump as well. Our study object was the Escherichia coli mutant EP432, which lacks the Na+/H+ antiporter genes nhaA and nhaB and is therefore unable to grow on LB medium at elevated Na+ concentrations. During growth on mineral medium, the Na+ tolerance of E. coli EP432 was influenced by the organic substrate. NaCl up to 450 mM did not affect growth on glycerol and fumarate, but growth on glucose was inhibited. Correlated to the Na+ tolerance was an increased synthesis of complex I in the glycerol/fumarate medium. Inverted membrane vesicles catalysed respiratory Na+ uptake with NADH as electron donor. The sodium ion transport activity of vesicles from glycerol/fumarate-grown cells was 40 nmol mg-1 min-1 and was resistant to the uncoupler carbonyl-cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), but was inhibited by the complex I-specific inhibitor rotenone. With an E. coli mutant deficient in complex I, the Na+ transport activity was low (1-3 nmol mg-1 min-1), and rotenone was without effect.

Cell Membrane↗
PubMed1996

Mitochondria, calcium regulation, and acute glutamate excitotoxicity in cultured cerebellar granule cells.

Exposure of cultured cerebellar granule cells to 100 microM glutamate plus glycine in the absence of Mg2+ causes calcium loading of the in situ mitochondria and is excitotoxic, as demonstrated by a collapse of the cellular ATP/ADP ratio, cytoplasmic Ca2+ deregulation (the failure of the cell to maintain a stable cytoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration), and extensive cell death. Glutamate-evoked Ca2+ deregulation is exacerbated by the mitochondrial respiratory chain inhibitor rotenone. Cells maintained by glycolytic ATP, i.e., in the presence of the mitochondrial ATP synthase inhibitor oligomycin, remain viable for several hours but are still susceptible to glutamate; thus, disruption of mitochondrial ATP synthesis is not a necessary step in glutamate excitotoxicity. In contrast, the combination of rotenone (or antimycin A) plus oligomycin, which collapses the mitochondrial membrane potential, therefore preventing mitochondrial Ca2+ transport, allows glutamate-exposed cells to maintain a high ATP/ADP ratio while accumulating little 45Ca2+ and maintaining a low bulk cytoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration determined by fura-2. It is concluded that mitochondrial Ca2+ accumulation is a necessary intermediate in glutamate excitotoxicity, whereas the decreased Ca2+ flux into cells with depolarized mitochondria may reflect a feedback inhibition of the NMDA receptor mediated by localized Ca2+ accumulation in a microdomain accessible to the mitochondria.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1997

Enhanced depolarization-evoked calcium signal and reduced [ATP]/[ADP] ratio are unrelated events induced by oxidative stress in synaptosomes.

Oxidative insult elicited by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was previously shown to increase the basal intracellular Ca2+ concentration in synaptosomes. In the present study, the effect of H2O2 on the depolarization-evoked [Ca2+] signal was investigated. Pretreatment of synaptosomes with H2O2 (0.1-1 mM) augmented the [Ca2+] rise elicited by high K+ depolarization with essentially two alterations, the sudden sharp rise of [Ca2+]i due to K+ depolarization is enhanced and, instead of a decrease to a stable plateau, a slow, steady rise of [Ca2+]i follows the peak [Ca2+]i. H2O2 in the same concentration range lowered the ATP level and the [ATP]/[ADP] ratio. When carbonyl cyanide p-(trifluoromethoxy) phenylhydrazone (FCCP) (1 microM) or rotenone (2 microM)/oligomycin (10 microM) was applied initially to block mitochondrial ATP production, the lowered [ATP]/[ADP] ratio was further reduced by subsequent addition of 0.5 mM H2O2. The decline of the [ATP]/[ADP] ratio was parallel with but could not explain the enhanced K+-evoked [Ca2+]i signal, indicated by experiments in which the [ATP]/[ADP] ratio was decreased by FCCP (0.1 microM) or rotenone (2 microM) to a similar value as by H2O2 without causing any alteration in the [Ca2+]i signal. These results indicate that H2O2-evoked oxidative stress, in its early phase, gives rise to a complex dysfunction in the Ca2+ homeostasis and, parallel with it, to an impaired energy status.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed2001

DeltaPsi(m)-Dependent and -independent production of reactive oxygen species by rat brain mitochondria.

Mitochondria are widely believed to be the source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a number of neurodegenerative disease states. However, conditions associated with neuronal injury are accompanied by other alterations in mitochondrial physiology, including profound changes in the mitochondrial membrane potential DeltaPsi(m). In this study we have investigated the effects of DeltaPsi(m) on ROS production by rat brain mitochondria using the fluorescent peroxidase substrates scopoletin and Amplex red. The highest rates of mitochondrial ROS generation were observed while mitochondria were respiring on the complex II substrate succinate. Under this condition, the majority of the ROS signal was derived from reverse electron transport to complex I, because it was inhibited by rotenone. This mode of ROS generation is very sensitive to depolarization of DeltaPsi(m), and even the depolarization associated with ATP generation was sufficient to inhibit ROS production. Mitochondria respiring on the complex I substrates, glutamate and malate, produce very little ROS until complex I is inhibited with rotenone, which is also consistent with complex I being the major site of ROS generation. This mode of oxidant production is insensitive to changes in DeltaPsi(m). With both substrates, ubiquinone-derived ROS can be detected, but they represent a more minor component of the overall oxidant signal. These studies demonstrate that rat brain mitochondria can be effective producers of ROS. However, the optimal conditions for ROS generation require either a hyperpolarized membrane potential or a substantial level of complex I inhibition.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Modulation of mitochondrial membrane potential and reactive oxygen species production by copper in astrocytes.

In monolayers of cultured rat astrocytes a number of agents that induce oxidative stress act synergistically with exposure to copper leading to rapid depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential (Psi m) and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Copper sensitized astrocytes to the action of menadione, an intracellular generator of superoxide anion radical, exogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and rotenone, an inhibitor of mitochondrial electron transport chain complex I. However, significant differences were observed in the ability to modulate the copper-enhanced oxidative stress depending on which stressor was used. The inhibitor of mitochondrial permeability transition cyclosporin A attenuated the effect of copper and rotenone, but had no protective action in the case of H2O2/copper and menadione/copper combinations. The H2O2 scavenger pyruvate was effective at protecting mitochondria against damage associated with the combined exposure to H2O2/copper and menadione/copper but not to the rotenone/copper combination. The antioxidant Trolox was ineffective at protecting against any of these actions and indeed had a damaging effect when combined with copper. The membrane-permeable copper chelator neocuproine combined with sensitizing concentrations of menadione caused a decrease in Psi m, mimicking the action of copper. Penicillamine, a membrane-impermeable copper chelator, was effective at reducing copper sensitization. Endogenous copper, mobilized during periods of oxidative stress, may play a role in the pathophysiology of brain injury. Our results suggest that this might be particularly dangerous in dysfunctional conditions in which the mitochondrial electron transport chain is compromised.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Mitrochondrial NADH dehydrogenase in cystic fibrosis.

We have shown that skin fibroblast from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and from carriers for CF [heterozygotes (HZ)] consume more O2 than do their controls. When the mitochondrial electron transport inhibitor rotenone was added to the cells, the relative inhibition of O2 consumption was CF greater than HZ greater than controls (P less than 0.005 in both comparisons). Because rotenone specifically inhibits NADH dehydrogenase, [NADH: (acceptor) oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.99.3], which is the enzyme of energy-conserving site 1 of the mitochondrial electron transport system, activity and kinetics of this enzyme system were studied in fibroblast homogenates. NADH dehydrogenase activity was equal in cells from the three genotypes. At pH 8.0, affinity of the enzyme for its substrate was CF greater than HZ = controls; at pH 8.6, affinity was CF greater than HZ = controls (P less than 0.005 for the differences). pH optima for the genotypes were without exception 8.6 (CF), 8.3 (HZ), and 8.0 (control). HZ and control lines were distinguished unequivocally in a blind test on the basis of differences in pH optima. Purified mitochondrial preparations revealed pH optima identical to those found in whole cell homogenates. These data suggest that the mutant gene responsible for CF is expressed in the complex mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase system.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1997

Lack of mitochondrial and nuclear-encoded subunits of complex I and alteration of the respiratory chain in Nicotiana sylvestris mitochondrial deletion mutants.

We previously have shown that Nicotiana sylvestris cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) mutants I and II present large mtDNA deletions and that the NAD7 subunit of complex I (the main dehydrogenase of the mitochondrial respiratory chain) is absent in CMS I. Here, we show that, despite a large difference in size in the mtDNA deletion, CMS I and II display similar alterations. Both have an impaired development from germination to flowering, with partial male sterility that becomes complete under low light. Besides NAD7, two other complex I subunits are missing (NAD9 and the nucleus-encoded, 38-kDa subunit), identified on two-dimensional patterns of mitochondrial proteins. Mitochondria isolated from CMS leaves showed altered respiration. Although their succinate oxidation through complex II was close to that of the wild type, oxidation of glycine, a priority substrate of plant mitochondria, was significantly reduced. The remaining activity was much less sensitive to rotenone, indicating the breakdown of Complex I activity. Oxidation of exogenous NADH (coupled to proton gradient generation and partly sensitive to rotenone) was strongly increased. These results suggest respiratory compensation mechanisms involving additional NADH dehydrogenases to complex I. Finally, the capacity of the cyanide-resistant alternative oxidase pathway was enhanced in CMS, and higher amounts of enzyme were evidenced by immunodetection.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

O2 sensing is preserved in mice lacking the gp91 phox subunit of NADPH oxidase.

The rapid response to hypoxia in the pulmonary artery (PA), carotid body, and ductus arteriosus is partially mediated by O2-responsive K+ channels. K+ channels in PA smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are inhibited by hypoxia, causing membrane depolarization, increased cytosolic calcium, and hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction. We hypothesize that the K+ channels are not themselves "O2 sensors" but rather respond to the reduced redox state created by hypoxic inhibition of candidate O2 sensors (NADPH oxidase or the mitochondrial electron transport chain). Both pathways shuttle electrons from donors, down a redox gradient, to O2. Hypoxia inhibits these pathways, decreasing radical production and causing cytosolic accumulation of unused, reduced, freely diffusible electron donors. PASMC K+ channels are redox responsive, opening when oxidized and closing when reduced. Inhibitors of NADPH oxidase (diphenyleneiodonium) and mitochondrial complex 1 (rotenone) both inhibit PASMC whole-cell K+ current but lack the specificity to identify the O2-sensor pathway. We used mice lacking the gp91 subunit of NADPH oxidase [chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) mice] to assess the hypothesis that NADPH oxidase is a PA O2-sensor. In wild-type lungs, gp91 phox and p22 phox subunits are present (relative expression: macrophages > airways and veins > PASMCs). Deletion of gp91 phox did not alter p22 phox expression but severely inhibited activated O2 species production. Nonetheless, hypoxia caused identical inhibition of whole-cell K+ current (in PASMCs) and hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (in isolated lungs) from CGD vs. wild-type mice. Rotenone vasoconstriction was preserved in CGD mice, consistent with a role for the mitochondrial electron transport chain in O2 sensing. NADPH oxidase, though a major source of lung radical production, is not the pulmonary vascular O2 sensor in mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Atovaquone, a broad spectrum antiparasitic drug, collapses mitochondrial membrane potential in a malarial parasite.

At present, approaches to studying mitochondrial functions in malarial parasites are quite limited because of the technical difficulties in isolating functional mitochondria in sufficient quantity and purity. We have developed a flow cytometric assay as an alternate means to study mitochondrial functions in intact erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium yoelii, a rodent malaria parasite. By using a very low concentration (2 nM) of a lipophilic cationic fluorescent probe, 3,3'dihexyloxacarbocyanine iodide, we were able to measure mitochondrial membrane potential(DeltaPsim) in live intact parasitized erythrocytes through flow cytometry. The accumulation of the probe into parasite mitochondria was dependent on the presence of a membrane potential since inclusion of carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, a protonophore, dissipated the membrane potential and abolished the probe accumulation. We tested the effect of standard mitochondrial inhibitors such as myxothiazole, antimycin, cyanide and rotenone. All of them except rotenone collapsed the DeltaPsim and inhibited respiration. The assay was validated by comparing the EC50 of these compounds for inhibiting DeltaPsim and respiration. This assay was used to investigate the effect of various antimalarial drugs such as chloroquine, tetracycline and a broad spectrum antiparasitic drug atovaquone. We observed that only atovaquone collapsed DeltaPsim and inhibited parasite respiration within minutes after drug treatment. Furthermore, atovaquone had no effect on mammalian DeltaPsim. This suggests that atovaquone, shown to inhibit mitochondrial electron transport, also depolarizes malarial mitochondria with consequent cellular damage and death.

Animals↗