Comparative studies on succinate and terminal oxidase activity in microbial and mammalian electron-transport systems

1969 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 797-807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Jurtshuk ◽  
Ann K. May ◽  
Leodocia M. Pope ◽  
Patricia R. Aston

A comparative study was undertaken to examine the succinate and terminal oxidase activities of the electron-transport systems of Azotobacter vinelandii and mammalian mitochondria. For succinate oxidation, both systems exhibited similar relative specificities for the electron acceptors phenazine methosulfate, O2, methylene blue, K3Fe(CN)6, nitrotetrazolium blue, 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol (DCIP), and cytochrome c. They differed in that DCIP and cytochrome c were less active in the Azotobacter electron-transport system (R3 fraction) than in the bovine mitochondrial system. Comparative studies with known inhibitors of mammalian mitochondrial electron-transport demonstrated that the succinoxidase activity of the Azotobacter R3 fraction was, at least, 2000 times less sensitive to antimycin A, 700 times less sensitive to thenoyl-trifluoroacetone, and 30 times less sensitive to 2-n-heptyl-4-hydroxy-quinoline-N-oxide. Both systems were equally sensitive to KCN, p-chloromercuribenzoic acid, and chlorpromazine.The ability of the two systems to use tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) and its derivatives as electron donors, for terminal oxidation, was also similar. Studies on steady state reduction revealed that in the Azotobacter R3 fraction, the cytochromes (a2, a1, b1, c4 + c5) and flavoprotein components were reduced substantially by succinate as well as by TMPD in the presence of ascorbate. Ultrastructure analyses of the Azotobacter R3 electron-transport fraction revealed the vesicular membranous components identified as oxidosomes according to the terminology used by DeLey and contained spherical headpiece units of 80 Å in diameter which appeared to be morphologically identical with the tripartite units or the elementary particles described by Green and associates, viz., Kopaczyk et al., and by Fernandez-Moran et al.

1972 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 755-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. Jones ◽  
D. E. Hughes

In cell-free extracts of Pseudomonas ovalis nicotinic acid oxidase is confined to the wallmembrane fraction. It is associated with an electron-transport chain comprising b- and c-type cytochromes only, differing proportions of which are reduced by nicotinate and NADH. CO difference-spectra show two CO-binding pigments, cytochrome o (absorption maximum at 417nm) and another component absorbing maximally at 425nm. Cytochrome o is not reduced by NADH or by succinate but is by nicotinate, which can also reduce the ‘425’ CO-binding pigment. The effects of inhibitors of terminal oxidation support the idea of two terminal oxidases and a scheme involving the ‘425’ CO-binding pigment and the other components of the electron-transport chain is proposed.


1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 706-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Chr. Petersen ◽  
Hans Degn ◽  
Peter Nicholls

1. Coupled, cytochrome-c-depleted ('stripped') rat liver mitochondria reducing oxygen in the presence of exogenous cytochrome c, with succinate or ascorbate as substrates, show marked declines in the steady-state reduction of cytochrome c in excess oxygen on addition of uncouplers. Calculated ratios of maximal turnover in the uncoupled state and in the energized state for the cytochrome c oxidase (EC 1.9.3.1) reaction lie between 3 and 6, as obtained with reconstituted oxidase-containing vesicles. The succinate-cytochrome c reductase activity in such mitochondria shows a smaller response to uncoupler than that of the oxidase.2. The respiration rates of uncoupled mitochondria oxidizing ascorbate in the presence of added cytochrome c follow a Michaelis–Menten relationship with respect to oxygen concentration, in accordance with the pattern found previously with the solubilized oxidase. But succinate oxidation tends to give nonlinear concave-upward double-reciprocal plots of respiration rate against oxygen concentration, in accordance with the pattern found previously with intact uncoupled mitochondria.3. From simultaneous measurements of cytochrome c steady-state reduction, respiration rate, and oxygen concentration during succinate oxidation under uncoupled conditions it is found that at full reduction of cytochrome c, apparent Km for oxygen is 0.9 μM and the maximal oxidase (aa3) turnover is 400 s−1 (pH 7.4, 30 °C).4. The redox state of cytochrome c in uncoupled systems reflects a simple steady state; the redox state of cytochrome c in energized systems tends towards an equilibrium condition with the terminal cytochrome a3, whose apparent potential under these conditions is more negative than that of cytochrome c.


1971 ◽  
Vol 49 (11) ◽  
pp. 1175-1182 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ishaque ◽  
A. Donawa ◽  
M. I. H. Aleem

The respiratory chain system of heterotrophically grown Pseudomonas saccharophila contained cytochromes of the b, c, a, and o types and also the NADH and succinate oxidase enzyme systems. Cell-free extracts catalyzed phosphorylation coupled to the oxidation of NADH, succinate, and ascorbate (plus cytochrome c). The P/O ratios were in the range of 1.00 for generated NADH, 0.29 for added NADH, 0.50 for succinate, and 0.25 for ascorbate (plus cytochrome c).The oxidative phosphorylation was uncoupled by 2,4-dinitrophenol, 2,6-dibromophenol, pentachlorophenol, m-chlorocarbonyl cyanide phenylhydrazone, and dicumarol without any inhibition of oxygen consumption. Phosphorylation coupled to NADH oxidation was completely inhibited by the flavoprotein inhibitors such as rotenone, amytal, and atabrine; these inhibitors had no effect, however, on the ATP synthesis associated with succinate oxidation. Antimycin A or 2-n-nonyl-4-hydroxyquinoline-N-oxide as well as cyanide or azide at low concentrations completely inhibited the phosphate esterification coupled to the oxidation of NADH or succinate, but had little or no effect on the oxygen consumption. Relatively higher concentrations of oligomycin were required for a complete inhibition of the electron-transport-linked ATP formation.


1963 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 763-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. I. H. Aleem ◽  
H. Lees

Intact cells or cell-free extracts of Nitrosomonas catalyze the rapid and stoichiometric conversion of nitrohydroxylamine to nitrite at rates comparable to the oxidation of ammonium ion or hydroxylamine to nitrite. Cell-free extracts possess a powerful hydroxylamine – cytochrome c reductase activating hydroxylamine to donate electrons to the cytochrome systems comprising b, c, and a type components. The partially purified enzyme complex is sensitive to low concentrations of cyanide and inhibitors of the flavoproteins. The possible mechanism of the formation and oxidation of the new intermediate "nitrohydroxylamine" in the reaction sequence is discussed.


1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 634-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uwe Borgmann

Electron transport system (ETS) activity in Mysis relicta, Limnocalanus macrurus, and surface zooplankton was measured by following the rate of reduction of cytochrome c in the presence of NADH, succinate, or NADPH. The steady-state kinetics indicate that NADPH is oxidized by a different ETS from NADH and succinate, and more than one system may exist for the oxidation of NADH and succinate in surface zooplankton. The NADPH requiring ETS which, because of its higher Km, presumably does not reduce cytochrome c in vivo, is probably equivalent to the microsomal NADPH requiring ETS from vertebrates and insects used in the detoxification of organic compounds. ETS activity is affected by both environmental temperature and size of the organism, with environmental temperature affecting both the total activity of the enthalpy of activation of the system. Larger organisms have a lower activity per unit weight compared with smaller animals. Because the effects of temperature and size are roughly similar for NADPH oxidation and NADH or succinate oxidation, the ratio of NADPH to either NADH or succinate oxidation may be a useful indicator of exposure to toxic organic compounds.


2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (2) ◽  
pp. R1016-R1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Chamberlin

The midgut of the tobacco hornworm ( Manduca sexta) is a highly aerobic tissue that is destroyed by programmed cell death during larval-pupal metamorphosis. The death of the epithelium begins after commitment to pupation, and the oxygen consumption of isolated midgut mitochondria decreases soon after commitment. To assess the role of the electron transport chain in this decline in mitochondrial function, the maximal activities of complexes I–IV of the respiratory chain were measured in isolated midgut mitochondria. Whereas there were no developmental changes in the activity of complex I or III, activities of complexes II and IV [cytochrome c oxidase (COX)] were higher in mitochondria from precommitment than postcommitment larvae. This finding is consistent with a higher rate of succinate oxidation in mitochondria isolated from precommitment larvae and reveals that the metamorphic decline in mitochondrial respiration is due to the targeted destruction or inactivation of specific sites within the mitochondria, rather than the indiscriminate destruction of the organelles. The COX turnover number (e−·s−1·cytochrome aa3−1) was greater for the enzyme from precommitment than postcommitment larvae, indicating a change in the enzyme structure and/or its lipid environment during the early stages of metamorphosis. The turnover number of COX in the intact mitochondria (in organello COX) was also lower in postcommitment larvae. In addition to changes in the protein or membrane phospholipids, the metamorphic decline in this rate constant may be a result of the observed loss of endogenous cytochrome c.


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