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Localization of cytochromes in intact and fragmented mitochondrial membranes.

Differences in the reactivity of cytochrome c toward external oxidants ferricyanide and cytochrome c peroxidase enzyme-substrate complexes in the intact and fragmented membranes may be easily explained on the basis of different locations of cytochrome c. The oxidation of cytochrome c is nearly 100% in the intact mitochondria, suggesting its location to be on the outside of the membrane permeability barrier and freely accessible to the external oxidants. In the sonicated membrane fragments, only 40% of cytochrome c reacts with ferricyanide or ES complex. Cytochromes c, c(1), a, and a(3) are oxidized roughly in the same proportion by the external oxidants. These data suggest the existence of complete cytochrome chains on both sides of the membrane permeability barrier in the submitochondrial particles, and serve to explain a number of hitherto unresolved complexities concerning their electron transfer and energy coupling reactions. Energy coupling and controlled electron flow occurs in sets of cytochromes c(1), a, a(3) on the same side of the membrane permeability barrier.

Animals↗

A new concept for energy coupling in oxidative phosphorylation based on a molecular explanation of the oxygen exchange reactions.

The P(i) right arrow over left arrow HOH exchange reaction of oxidative phosphorylation is considerably less sensitive to uncouplers than the P(i) right arrow over left arrow ATP and ATP right arrow over left arrow HOH exchanges. The uncoupler-insensitive P(i) right arrow over left arrow HOH exchange is inhibited by oligomycin. These results and other considerations suggest that the relatively rapid and uncoupler-insensitive P(i) right arrow over left arrow HOH exchange results from a rapid, reversible hydrolysis of a tightly but noncovalently bound ATP at a catalytic site for oxidative phosphorylation, concomitant with interchange of medium and bound P(i). Such tightly bound ATP has been demonstrated in submitochondrial particles in the presence of uncouplers, P(i), and ADP, by rapid labeling from (32)P(i) under essentially steady-state phosphorylation conditions. These results lead to the working hypothesis that in oxidative phosphorylation energy from electron transport causes release of preformed ATP from the catalytic site. This release could logically involve energy-requiring protein conformational change.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Dehydrogenase and transhydrogenase properties of the soluble NADH dehydrogenase of bovine heart mitochondria.

The soluble NADH dehydrogenase of low molecular weight, isolated from complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.5.3) of the respiratory chain, has been shown to have NADPH dehydrogenase and NADPH leads to NAD transhydrogenase activities. Both activities are greatly increased in the presence of added guanidine-HCl and at pH values less than 6.5. The chromophores of the soluble enzyme (flavin and iron--sulfur centers) are reduced by NADH and NADPH to the same extent. The latter reduction is extremely slow, and is considerably stimulated in the presence of guanidine-HCl. The soluble dehydrogenase has little or no NADH leads to NADP and NADPH leads to NADP transhydrogenase activity. The former reaction is known to be energy-linked in submitochondrial particles; the latter was shown in the present studies also to be energy-linked. In view of the above and earlier results, possible mechanisms for dehydrogenation and transhydrogenation (nonenergy-linked and energy-linked) involving reduced and oxidized NAD and NADP are proposed.

Animals↗

Mitochondrial carbonic anhydrase.

We have assayed carbonic anhydrase activity (carbonate dehydratase, carbonate hydro-lyase, EC 4.2.1.1) and bicarbonate permeability in suspensions of broken and intact guinea pig mitochondria by monitoring the disappearance of C16O18O. We found significant activity in preparations from liver and skeletal muscle, but not in preparations from heart muscle, brain, and kidney. Intact mitochondria containing carbonic anhydrase produce a two-phase acceleration of the disappearance of the labeled CO2, which indicates that the enzyme is located in a region more accessible to CO2 than to HCO3-. Acetazolamide inhibits the enzyme activity instantly in broken mitochondria but only after a delay in intact mitochondria, indicating that the enzyme is in a region not immediately accessible to the inhibitor. Sonication of mitochondria containing carbonic anhydrase activity releases the enzyme, which remains in the supernatant after sedimentation of the submitochondrial particles. This shows that mitochondrial carbonic anhydrase is in the matrix compartment and not in, or bound to, the inner membrane. The activity of the enzyme increases markedly with increasing pH. The enzyme activity of intact mitochondria is greater than that of the broken mitochondria at the same pH of the suspending fluid, corresponding to an intramitochondrial pH that is 0.2-0.5 unit more alkaline.

Animals↗

Cytochrome c oxidase inhibition by anesthetics: thermodynamic analysis.

The thermodynamic parameters that characterize the inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase activity, in rat liver submitochondrial particles, by n-butanol, tetracaine, and dibucaine were obtained. Three equilibria were assumed in order to account for the data: for the interaction of inhibitor with the native state of the enzyme, for the interaction of inhibitor with the thermally (reversibly) denatured state, and for the change between the native and thermally denatured states. Inhibition results from interaction with both the native and denatured states but, because the interaction is stronger with the denatured than with the native state, the native/denatured equilibrium is shifted to the right by the anesthetics. The enthalpies of interaction are -2.3, -4.7, and 3.7 kcal/mol (1 cal = 4.18 J) for the native state and -10, -6, and -14 kcal/mol for the denatured state, for n-butanol, tetracaine, and dibucaine, respectively. These values are much smaller than the previous estimates obtained by using the assumption that anesthetics interact only with the thermally denatured state of enzymes (e.g., -81 kcal/mol for tetracaine inhibition of luciferase). Our results suggest that local anesthetics inhibit enzyme activity by causing a reversible perturbation of protein conformation. The magnitude of the perturbation is much smaller (in energetic terms) than that which accompanies thermal denaturation.

Butanols↗

Substrate binding affinity changes in mitochondrial energy-linked reactions.

The effects of uncouplers and valinomycin plus nigericin (in the presence of K+) were studied on the apparent Km for substrates and apparent Vmax of the following energy-linked reactions catalyzed by submitochondrial particles: oxidative phosphorylation, NTP-33Pi exchange, ATP-driven electron transfer from succinate to NAD, and respiration-driven transhydrogenation from NADH to 3-acetylpyridine adenine dinucleotide phosphate. In all cases, partially uncoupling (up to 90%) concentrations of uncouplers of valinomycin plus nigericin were found to decrease apparent Vmax and to increase apparent Km. Results plotted as ln (Vmax/Km) versus the concentration of uncouplers or ionophores showed a linear decrease of the former as a function of increasing perturbant concentration (i.e., decreasing free energy). Because Vmax/Km may be considered as a measure of the apparent first-order rate constant for enzyme-substrate interaction and reflects the affinity between enzyme and substrate to form a complex, the results are consistent with the interpretation that membrane energization leads to a change in enzyme conformation with the resultant increase in enzyme-substrate affinity and facilitation of the reaction rate under consideration. The significance of these findings with respect to the mechanism of action of the energy-transducing systems studied is discussed.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

2'-Phosphoadenylylation of eukaryotic proteins: a type of covalent modification.

An enzymatic system in rat liver microsomal preparations has been detected that catalyzes the transfer of the 2'-phospho-AMP moiety from NADP to endogenous polypeptides; the major acceptor is a polypeptide of about 40 kDa (p40). Modification of the acceptor by 2'-phospho-AMP residues was deduced from the simultaneous transfer of 2'-[33P]phosphate and [3H]adenine residues from double-labeled NADP, while no incorporation of radioactivity into p40 was seen with NADP species labeled in the NMN moiety. The true substrate of this phosphoadenylylation reaction was 2'-phospho-ADP-ribose rather than NADP, because labeled phospho-ADP-ribose was as efficient as or more efficient than NADP in forming modified p40. Also, NADP was rapidly converted to phospho-ADP-ribose during incubation with microsomes. Furthermore, isonicotinic acid hydrazide, an inhibitor of NADP glycohydrolase, prevented phosphoadenylylation from NADP, but not from phospho-ADP-ribose, and glycohydrolase-resistant NADPH could not substitute for NADP. Transferase activity was found in liver and brain microsomes and, to a smaller extent, in the cytosol fractions. In Ehrlich ascites tumor cells, most of the activity resided in the cytosol, from which it could be partially purified. The apparent Km for phospho-ADP-ribose was about 2 X 10(-4) M, and the pH optimum was around 7. Divalent cations like Mg2+ and Mn2+ inhibited the reaction. In all compartmental preparations, activity was eliminated by heating or short treatment with alkali or acid. In submitochondrial particles from rat liver, a system with different characteristics led to the phosphoadenylylation of several endogenous polypeptides.

Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose↗

Membrane topography and near-neighbor relationships of the mitochondrial ATP synthase subunits e, f, and g.

The well characterized subunits of the bovine ATP synthase complex are the alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon subunits of the catalytic sector, F1; the ATPase inhibitor protein; and subunits a, b, c, and d, OSCP (oligomycin sensitivity-conferring protein), F6, and A6L, which are present in the membrane sector, F0, and the 45-A-long stalk that connects F1 to F0. It has been shown recently that bovine ATP synthase preparations also contain three small polypeptides, designated e, f, and g, with respective molecular masses of 8.2, 10. 2, and 11.3 kDa. To ascertain their involvement as bona fide subunits of the ATP synthase and to investigate their membrane topography and proximity to the above ATP synthase subunits, polyclonal antipeptide antibodies were raised in the rabbit to the COOH-terminal amino acid residues 57-70 of e, 75-86 of f, and 91-102 of g. It was shown that (i) e, f, and g could be immunoprecipitated with anti-OSCP IgG from a fraction of bovine submitochondrial particles enriched in oligomycin-sensitive ATPase; (ii) the NH2 termini of f and g are exposed on the matrix side of the mitochondrial inner membrane and can be curtailed by proteolysis; (iii) the COOH termini of all three polypeptides are exposed on the cytosolic side of the inner membrane; and (iv) f cross-links to A6L and to g, and e cross-links to g and appears to form an e-e dimer. Thus, the bovine ATP synthase complex appears to have 16 unlike subunits, twice as many as its counterpart in Escherichia coli.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The smallest membrane anchoring subunit (QPs3) of bovine heart mitochondrial succinate-ubiquinone reductase. Cloning, sequencing, topology, and Q-binding domain.

The cDNA encoding the smallest membrane-anchoring subunit (QPs3) of bovine heart mitochondrial succinate-ubiquinone reductase was cloned and sequenced. This cDNA is 1330 base pairs long with an open reading frame of 474 base pairs that encodes the 103 amino acid residues of mature QPs3 and a 55-amino acid residue presequence. The cDNA insert has an 820-base pair long 3'-untranslated region, including a poly(A) tail. The molecular mass of QPs3, deduced from the nucleotide sequence, is 10,989 Da. QPs3 is a very hydrophobic protein; the hydropathy plot of the amino acid sequence reveals three transmembrane helices. Previous photoaffinity labeling studies of succinate-ubiquinone reductase, using 3-azido-2-methyl-5-methoxy[3H]-6-decyl-1,4-benzoquinone ([3H]azido-Q), identified QPs3 as one of the putative Q-binding proteins in this reductase. An azido-Q-linked peptide with a retention time of 66 min is obtained by high performance liquid chromatography of the chymotrypsin digest of carboxymethylated and succinylated [3H]azido-Q-labeled QPs3 purified from labeled succinate-ubiquinone reductase by a procedure involving phenyl-Sepharose 4B column chromatography, preparative SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and acetone precipitation. The amino acid sequence of this peptide is NH2-L-N-P-C-S-A-M-D-Y-COOH, corresponding to residues 29-37. The structure of QPs3 in the inner mitochondrial membrane is proposed based on the hydropathy profile of the amino acid sequence, on the predicted tendencies to form alpha-helices and beta-sheets, and on immunobinding of Fab' fragmenthorseradish peroxidase conjugates prepared from antibodies against two synthetic peptides, corresponding to the NH2 terminus region and the loop connecting helices 2 and 3 of QPs3, in mitoplasts and submitochondrial particles. The ubiquinone-binding domain in the proposed model of QPs3 is probably located at the end of transmembrane helix 1 toward the C-side of the mitochondrial inner membrane.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Cellular respiration during hypoxia. Role of cytochrome oxidase as the oxygen sensor in hepatocytes.

We previously reported that hepatocytes exhibit a reversible suppression of respiration during prolonged hypoxia (PO2 = 20 torr for 3-5 h). Also, isolated bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase undergoes a reversible decrease in apparent Vmax when incubated under similar conditions. This study sought to link the hypoxia-induced changes in cytochrome oxidase to the inhibition of respiration seen in intact cells. Hepatocytes incubated at PO2 = 20 torr exhibited decreases in respiration and increases in [NAD(P)H] after 2-3 h that were reversed upon reoxygenation (PO2 = 100 torr). Respiration during hypoxia was also inhibited when N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (0.5 mM) and ascorbate (5 mM) were used to reduce cytochrome c, suggesting that cytochrome oxidase was partially inhibited. Similarly, liver submitochondrial particles revealed a 44% decrease in the apparent Vmax of cytochrome oxidase after hypoxic incubation. In hepatocytes loaded with tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester (10 nM) to quantify mitochondrial membrane potential, acute hypoxia (<30 min) produced no change in fluorescence, consistent with the absence of an acute change in respiration. However, fluorescence increased during acute reoxygenation after prolonged hypoxia, suggesting an increase in potential. The control exhibited by NADH over mitochondrial respiration was not altered during hypoxia. Thus, changes in the Vmax of cytochrome oxidase during prolonged hypoxia correlate with the changes in respiration and mitochondrial potential. This suggests that the oxidase functions as an oxygen sensor in the intact hepatocyte.

ATP Synthetase Complexes↗

Mitochondrial ubiquinone homologues, superoxide radical generation, and longevity in different mammalian species.

Rates of mitochondrial superoxide anion radical (O-2) generation are known to be inversely correlated with the maximum life span potential of different mammalian species. The objective of this study was to understand the possible mechanism(s) underlying such variations in the rate of O-2 generation. The hypothesis that the relative amounts of the ubiquinones or coenzyme Q (CoQ) homologues, CoQ9 and CoQ10, are related with the rate of O-2 generation was tested. A comparison of nine different mammalian species, namely mouse, rat, guinea pig, rabbit, pig, goat, sheep, cow, and horse, which vary from 3.5 to 46 years in their maximum longevity, indicated that the rate of O-2 generation in cardiac submitochondrial particles (SMPs) was directly related to the relative amount of CoQ9 and inversely related to the amount of CoQ10, extractable from their cardiac mitochondria. To directly test the relationship between CoQ homologues and the rate of O-2 generation, rat heart SMPs, naturally containing mainly CoQ9 and cow heart SMPs, with high natural CoQ10 content, were chosen for depletion/reconstitution experiments. Repeated extractions of rat heart SMPs with pentane exponentially depleted both CoQ homologues while the corresponding rates of O-2 generation and oxygen consumption were lowered linearly. Reconstitution of both rat and cow heart SMPs with different amounts of CoQ9 or CoQ10 caused an initial increase in the rates of O-2 generation, followed by a plateau at high concentrations. Within the physiological range of CoQ concentrations, there were no differences in the rates of O-2 generation between SMPs reconstituted with CoQ9 or CoQ10. Only at concentrations that were considerably higher than the physiological level, the SMPs reconstituted with CoQ9 exhibited higher rates of O-2 generation than those obtained with CoQ10. These in vitro findings do not support the hypothesis that differences in the distribution of CoQ homologues are responsible for the variations in the rates of mitochondrial O-2 generation in different mammalian species.

Animals↗

Mitochondrial NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex I). Effect of substrates on the fragmentation of subunits by trypsin.

It has been shown that treatment of bovine mitochondrial complex I (NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase) with NADH or NADPH, but not with NAD or NADP, increases the susceptibility of a number of subunits to tryptic degradation. This increased susceptibility involved subunits that contain electron carriers, such as FMN and iron-sulfur clusters, as well as subunits that lack electron carriers. Results shown elsewhere on changes in the cross-linking pattern of complex I subunits when the enzyme was pretreated with NADH or NADPH (Belogrudov, G., and Hatefi, Y. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 4571-4576) also indicated that complex I undergoes extensive conformation changes when reduced by substrate. Furthermore, we had previously shown that in submitochondrial particles the affinity of complex I for NAD increases by >/=20-fold in electron transfer from succinate to NAD when the particles are energized by ATP hydrolysis. Together, these results suggest that energy coupling in complex I may involve protein conformation changes as a key step. In addition, it has been shown here that treatment of complex I with trypsin in the presence of NADPH, but not NADH or NAD(P), produced from the 39-kDa subunit a 33-kDa degradation product that resisted further hydrolysis. Like the 39-kDa subunit, the 33-kDa product bound to a NADP-agarose affinity column, and could be eluted with a buffer containing NADPH. It is possible that together with the acyl carrier protein of complex I the NADP(H)-binding 39-kDa subunit is involved in intramitochondrial fatty acid synthesis.

Animals↗

On the mechanism of quinol oxidation in the bc1 complex.

The question of whether significant levels of a semiquinone can be generated in the Qo site of the bc1 complex under conditions of oxidant-induced reduction is relevant to the mechanism of bifurcation of electron transfer in this site. It has already been reported that beef heart submitochondrial particles under such conditions exhibit an EPR-detectable semiquinone, which is distinct from Q-i and which was attributed to a semiquinone in the Qo site (de Vries, S., Albracht, S. P. J., Berden, J. A., and Slater, E. C. (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 11996-11998). However, we show here that this signal, which can be generated to a level of around 0.1 per bc1 monomer, is insensitive to the Qo site inhibitors myxothiazol, E-beta-methoxyacrylate-stilbene, and stigmatellin, indicating that it does not arise from a Q-o species. Based on sensitivities to inhibitors of other Q sites, up to 60% of the signal may arise from semiquinones of complexes I and II. We further show that the iron-sulfur center remains EPR silent under oxidant-induced reduction conditions. Overall, the results indicate that, under conditions of oxidant-induced reduction, the Qo site is occupied primarily by quinol with the iron-sulfur center oxidized, or, possibly, by an antiferromagnetically coupled semiquinone/reduced iron-sulfur center pair, which are EPR silent. This is discussed in relation to proposed mechanisms of quinol oxidation in the Qo site, and we describe a minimal intermediate-controlled bifurcation model based on rate constants by which bifurcated electron transfer at the Qo site might occur.

Animals↗

Ubiquinol:cytochrome c oxidoreductase. Effects of inhibitors on reverse electron transfer from the iron-sulfur protein to cytochrome b.

The effects of inhibitors on the reduction of the bis-heme cytochrome b of ubiquinol: cytochrome c oxidoreductase (complex III, bc1 complex) has been studied in bovine heart submitochondrial particles (SMP) when cytochrome b was reduced by NADH and succinate via the ubiquinone (Q) pool or by ascorbate plus N,N,N', N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine via cytochrome c1 and the iron-sulfur protein of complex III (ISP). The inhibitors used were antimycin (an N-side inhibitor), beta-methoxyacrylate derivatives, stigmatellin (P-side inhibitors), and ethoxyformic anhydride, which modifies essential histidyl residues in ISP. In agreement with our previous findings, the following results were obtained: (i) When ISP/cytochrome c1 were prereduced or SMP were treated with a P-side inhibitor, the high potential heme bH was fully and rapidly reduced by NADH or succinate, whereas the low potential heme bL was only partially reduced. (ii) Reverse electron transfer from ISP/c1 to cytochrome b was inhibited more by antimycin than by the P-side inhibitors. This reverse electron transfer was unaffected when, instead of normal SMP, Q-extracted SMP containing 200-fold less Q (0. 06 mol Q/mol cytochrome b or c1) were used. (iii) The cytochrome b reduced by reverse electron transfer through the leak of a P-side inhibitor was rapidly oxidized upon subsequent addition of antimycin. This antimycin-induced reoxidation did not happen when Q-extracted SMP were used. The implications of these results on the path of electrons in complex III, on oxidant-induced extra cytochrome b reduction, and on the inhibition of forward electron transfer to cytochrome b by a P-side plus an N-side inhibitor have been discussed.

Animals↗

Three classes of inhibitors share a common binding domain in mitochondrial complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase).

We have developed two independent methods to measure equilibrium binding of inhibitors to membrane-bound and partially purified NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) to characterize the binding sites for the great variety of hydrophobic compounds acting on this large and complicated enzyme. Taking advantage of a partial quench of fluorescence upon binding of the fenazaquin-type inhibitor 2-decyl-4-quinazolinyl amine to complex I in bovine submitochondrial particles, we determined a Kd of 17 +/- 3 nM and one binding site per complex I. Equilibrium binding studies with [3H]dihydrorotenone and the aminopyrimidine [3H]AE F119209 (4(cis-4-[3H]isopropyl cyclohexylamino)-5-chloro-6-ethyl pyrimidine) using partially purified complex I from Musca domestica exhibited little unspecific binding and allowed reliable determination of dissociation constants. Competition experiments consistently demonstrated that all tested hydrophobic inhibitors of complex I share a common binding domain with partially overlapping sites. Although the rotenone site overlaps with both the piericidin A and the capsaicin site, the latter two sites do not overlap. This is in contrast to the interpretation of enzyme kinetics that have previously been used to define three classes of complex I inhibitors. The existence of only one large inhibitor binding pocket in the hydrophobic part of complex I is discussed in the light of possible mechanisms of proton translocation.

Animals↗

The regulation of mitochondrial oxygen uptake by redox reactions involving nitric oxide and ubiquinol.

The reversible inhibitory effects of nitric oxide (.NO) on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase and O(2) uptake are dependent on intramitochondrial.NO utilization. This study was aimed at establishing the mitochondrial pathways for.NO utilization that regulate O-(2) generation via reductive and oxidative reactions involving ubiquinol oxidation and peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) formation. For this purpose, experimental models consisting of intact mitochondria, ubiquinone-depleted/reconstituted submitochondrial particles, and ONOO(-)-supplemented mitochondrial membranes were used. The results obtained from these experimental approaches strongly suggest the occurrence of independent pathways for.NO utilization in mitochondria, which effectively compete with the binding of.NO to cytochrome oxidase, thereby releasing this inhibition and restoring O(2) uptake. The pathways for.NO utilization are discussed in terms of the steady-state levels of.NO and O-(2) and estimated as a function of O(2) tension. These calculations indicate that mitochondrial.NO decays primarily by pathways involving ONOO(-) formation and ubiquinol oxidation and, secondarily, by reversible binding to cytochrome oxidase.

Animals↗

Catalytic activities of mitochondrial ATP synthase in patients with mitochondrial DNA T8993G mutation in the ATPase 6 gene encoding subunit a.

We investigated the biochemical phenotype of the mtDNA T8993G point mutation in the ATPase 6 gene, associated with neurogenic muscle weakness, ataxia, and retinitis pigmentosa (NARP), in three patients from two unrelated families. All three carried >80% mutant genome in platelets and were manifesting clinically various degrees of the NARP phenotype. Coupled submitochondrial particles prepared from platelets capable of succinate-sustained ATP synthesis were studied using very sensitive and rapid luminometric and fluorescence methods. A sharp decrease (>95%) in the succinate-sustained ATP synthesis rate of the particles was found, but both the ATP hydrolysis rate and ATP-driven proton translocation (when the protons flow from the matrix to the cytosol) were minimally affected. The T8993G mutation changes the highly conserved residue Leu(156) to Arg in the ATPase 6 subunit (subunit a). This subunit, together with subunit c, is thought to cooperatively catalyze proton translocation and rotate, one with respect to the other, during the catalytic cycle of the F(1)F(0) complex. Our results suggest that the T8993G mutation induces a structural defect in human F(1)F(0)-ATPase that causes a severe impairment of ATP synthesis. This is possibly due to a defect in either the vectorial proton transport from the cytosol to the mitochondrial matrix or the coupling of proton flow through F(0) to ATP synthesis in F(1). Whatever mechanism is involved, this leads to impaired ATP synthesis. On the other hand, ATP hydrolysis that involves proton flow from the matrix to the cytosol is essentially unaffected.

ATP Synthetase Complexes↗

Catalytic activity of NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) in intact mitochondria. evidence for the slow active/inactive transition.

The mammalian purified dispersed NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex I) and the enzyme in inside-out submitochondrial particles are known to be the slowly equilibrating mixture of the active and de-activated forms (Vinogradov, A. D. (1998) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1364, 169-185). We report here the phenomenon of slow active/de-active transition in intact mitochondria where the enzyme is located within its natural environment being exposed to numerous mitochondrial matrix proteins. A simple procedure for permeabilization of intact mitochondria by channel-forming antibiotic alamethicin was worked out for the "in situ" assay of Complex I activity. Alamethicin-treated mitochondria catalyzed the rotenone-sensitive NADH-quinone reductase reaction with exogenousely added NADH and quinone-acceptor at the rates expected if the enzyme active sites would be freely accessible for the substrates. The matrix proteins were retained in alamethicin-treated mitochondria as judged by their high rotenone-sensitive malate-cytochrome c reductase activity in the presence of added NAD(+). The sensitivity of Complex I to N-ethylmaleimide and to the presence of Mg(2+) was used as the diagnostic tools to detect the presence of the de-activated enzyme. The NADH-quinone reductase activity of alamethicin-treated mitochondria was sensitive to neither N-ethylmaleimide nor Mg(2+). After exposure to elevated temperature (37 degrees C, the conditions known to induce de-activation of Complex I) the enzyme activity became sensitive to the sulfhydryl reagent and/or Mg(2+). The sensitivity to both inhibitors disappeared after brief exposure of the thermally de-activated mitochondria with malate/glutamate, NAD(+), and cytochrome c (the conditions known for the turnover-induced reactivation of the enzyme). We conclude that the slow active/de-active Complex I transition is a characteristic feature of the enzyme in intact mitochondria and discuss its possible physiological significance.

Alamethicin↗