J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 255, Issue 22, 10721-10730, Nov, 1980
On the location of the H+-extruding steps in site 2 of the mitochondrial electron transport chain
A Alexandre, F Galiazzo and AL Lehninger
The location of the H+-translocating reactions within energy-conserving
Site 2 of the mitochondrial electron transport chain was evaluated from two
sets of data. In the first, the H+/2e- ejection ratios and Ca2+/2e- uptake
ratios were compared for electron flow from succinate dehydrogenase, whose
active site is on the matrix side of the inner membrane and from glycerol
phosphate dehydrogenase, whose active site is on the cytosolic side. In
intact rat liver mitochondria both substrates yielded H+/2e- ejection
ratios close to 4.0 and Ca2+/2e- uptake ratios close to 1.0 during
antimycin-sensitive reduction of ferricyanide. With rat liver mitoplasts
and ferricytochrome c as electron acceptor, both substrates again gave the
same stoichiometric ratios. The second approach involved determination of
the sidedness of H+ formation during electron flow from succinate to
ferricyanide via bypass of the antimycin block of the cytochrome b.c1
complex provided by N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD), under
conditions in which the TMPD-TMPD+ couple does not act as a
membrane-penetrating protonophore. Electron flow in this system was
inhibited by 2-then- oyltrifluoroacetone, indicating that TMPD probably
accepts electrons from ubiquinol. The 2 H+ formed in this system were not
delivered into the matrix but appeared directly in the medium in the
absence of a protonophore. To accommodate the available evidence on Site 2
substrates, it is concluded that the substrate hydrogens are first
transferred to ubiquinone, 2 H+ per 2e then appear in the medium by
protolytic dehydrogenation of a species of ubiquinol or ubiquinol- protein
having the appropriate sidedness (designated Site 2A), and the other 2 H+
are translocated from the matrix to the medium on passage of 2e- through
the cytochrome b x c1 complex (designated Site 2B).