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Mitochondrial uncoupling agents. Effects on membrane permeability of molluscan neurons.

Agents which uncouple oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria were applied to identified neurons in an isolated ganglion of the marine mollusc Navanax inermis. Aromatic monocarboxylic acids, acetanilides, benzamides, benzaldehydes and phenols all caused a rapid, reversible, dose-dependent increase in the membrane potential and conductance of the neurons tested. These events were due primarily to an increase in the membrane's conductance to potassium, relative to chloride. All active compounds also produced a reversible, dose-dependent decrease in the permeability of alkali-cations relative to potassium. The relative activity of congeners in each group of substances was directly correlated with the octanol-water partition coefficients of the various compounds, indicating that hydrophobicity was important in determining drug effect and suggesting that steric requirements were minimal. The results suggest that the observed changes in membrane electrical properties and cation selectivity are due to an increase in the membrane's anionic field strength caused by the hydrophobic interaction of anionic and nonionic agents with the neuronal membrane.

Animals

Morphological alterations in the mitochondria of Amoeba proteus induced by uncoupling agents.

Ultrastructural changes in mitochondrial morphology were observed in amoebae exposed to the uncoupling agents dinitrophernol (DNP), pentachlorophenol (PCP), and m-chlorocarbonyl cyanide phenylhydrazone (CCCP). These alterations occurred with rapidity and were present before whole-cell activity changes could be detected. They included changes in profile shape and overall dimensions, matrix density changes, and alterations to the cristal membranes, so that distinction between control Type I and Type II conformations was eliminated and a form with intermediate characters generated. It is proposed that, in producing these altered forms, the uncoupling agents are acting by suppressing the control functional states of the mitochondria. At the end of the uncoupler treatment all alterations were shown to be reversible, i.e. in cells transferred back to normal culture medium, mitochondrial profiles identical to those in control cells were again evident with time. These effects on the mitochondria could be produced whether the uncoupler was introduced externally by total cell exposure, or to the inside of the cell by microinjection. The importance of precisely defining conditions for treatments and at disrupting cell activity was evident. Thus, an uncoupler, which is a weak acid, proved to be more effective in whole cell treatments if applied at a pH near to it pKa - so ensuring its penetration across the outer cell membrane.

Amoeba

Uncoupling agents distinguish between the effects of metabolic inhibitors and transport inhibitors.

In studies with toad bladders, the uncoupling agent 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) reversed the inhibition of CO2 production produced by direct inhibition of transport. In contrast, DNP did not reverse the inhibition of CO2 production brought about by metabolic inhibitors. Therefore, the response to DNP distinguished between inhibition of transport and metabolism; this approach may be useful for the investigation of factors that regulate active transport.

Animals

Circular dichroic evidence for a conformational change in a cytochrome b--c1 complex by uncoupling agents.

Circular dichroic spectra of the cytochrome b--c1 complex exhibit bilobe formation typical of exciton splitting in the presence of uncoupler. Bilobe formation occurs if both cytochrome c1 and cytochrome b are fully reduced. The fully oxidized and ascorbate-reduced complexes are not altered dichroically by uncouplers. The exciton splitting induced by uncoupler is consistent with heme--heme interaction: specifically, interaction between the two cytochromes b in the complex.

Circular Dichroism

Mechanism of action of agents which uncouple oxidative phosphorylation: direct correlation between proton-carrying and respiratory-releasing properties using rat liver mitochondria.

The proton-carrying properties of uncoupling agents were investigated by measuring passive mitochondrial swelling under conditions where electrogenic proton transport was rate limiting. The ability of uncoupling agents to transport protons into mitochondria, measured in this way, was compared with respiratory stimulation. The results show that with the single exception of arsenate, all agents tested which uncouple oxidative phosphorylation demonstrate a very close correlation between release of respiration and proton transport. These findings are in support of Mitchell's original proposal that uncoupling agents act by promoting electrogenic hydrogen ion transport across the mitochondrial inner membrane.

Animals

[Influence of uncoupling agents on the capacity of transamidinase in kidney and pancreas].

It was found in white rats that hyperthyreosis (0.5% thyreoidin in dry food), respectively 2,4-dinitrophenol (30 mg/kg body weight/day i. p.), deficiency of the vitamins K and E or complete fasting increase the content of creatine in muscle, plasma and urine, but reduce the concentration of creatinine. Simultaneously the elevated creatine level of blood causes a repression of transamidinase in kidneys and pancreas. The common mode of action of the mentioned agents is seen in a decoupling of the oxidative phosphorylation, and in an insufficient availability of ATP, respectively.

Adenosine Triphosphate

The concentration of glycine by preparations of the yeast Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis depleted of adenosine triphosphate: Effects of proton gradients and uncoupling agents.

1. At pH 4.5 and 30degreesC, yeast preparations depleted of ATP in the presence of antimycin and deoxyglucose spontaneously lost K+, gaining roughly an equivalent amount of H+. 2. Five proton conductors including azide and 2,4-dinitrophenol accelerated this process, as did [14C]glycine, which was absorbed with two extra equivalents of H+. 3. The rate of glycine uptake at pH 4.5 diminished fourfold when cellular K+ fell by 20%. 4. The distribution of [14C]propionate indicated that the intracellular pH fell from 6.2 to 5.7 when the cellular content of K+ fell by 30%. 5. Glycine uptake from a 5 muM solution was about 400 times faster at pH 4.5 than it was at pH 7.4 with 100mM-KC1 present ostensibly to lower the membrane potential. 6. Yeast preparations containing 2mM-[14C]glycine absorbed a further amount from a 0.1 muM solution at pH 4.5. After about 10 min a net movement of [14C]glycine out of the yeast occurred. The ratio of the cellular [14Ia1glycine concentration to the concentration outside the yeast reached 4 X 10(4) in these assays, whereas at pH 7.4 in the presence of 100mM-KC1 it did not exceed 15 in 3h. Dimitrophenol lowered the accumulation ratio at pH 4.5, apparently by causing proton conduction. 7. The observations are consistent with the notion that glycine uptake is driven by a proton symport mechanism. 8. Possible factors governing the strikingly low rate of glycine efflux as opposed to its optimum rate of influx are discussed.

Adenosine Triphosphate

[Effect of uncoupling agents and benz (a) pyrene metabolites on respiration in L cells and normal mouse embryonal fibroblasts].

A method is proposed for a polarografic study of the respiration of cell suspensions obtained from monolayer cultures of L-cells and from normal embryonic fibroblasts of mice (C3HA line). 6-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene (6-OHBP). The metabolite of the carcinogenic hydrocarbon benzo(a)pyrene, was shown to be a strong uncoupler of of oxidation and phosphorylation of cell suspensions. Its effect was influenced by the presence of calf serum in the incubation media. Possible relationships between the toxic effect of 6-OHBP on monolayer cultures of normal and tumor cells, and its effect on cell energetics are discussed.

Animals

Effect of inhibitors on the substrate-dependent quenching of 9-aminoacridine fluorescence in inside-out membrane vesicles of Escherichia coli.

The effect of various inhibitors on the substrate-dependent quenching of the fluorescence of 9-aminoacridine was measured in inside-out membrane vesicles of Escherichia coli. The rate of fluorescence quenching in the presence of inhibitors was dependent on the rate of electron transfer through the respiratory chain with NADH, succinate, D-lactate or DL-glycerol 3-phosphate as substrates. Several patterns of response were given by the inhibitors. Inhibitors competitive with substrate, or those acting only on the dehydrogenases, gave a direct relationship between the extent of inhibition of oxidase activity and the rate of quenching. A biphasic relationship was given by 2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide and piericidin A which was due to these compounds acting both as inhibitors of the respiratory chain and, at higher concentrations, as uncoupling agents. Uncouplers inhibited fluorescence quenching with minimal inhibition of oxidase activity. The transmembrane pH difference was calculated from the extent of fluorescence quenching and the intravesicular volume. The maximum pH difference of 3.3--3.7 units was generated by each of the substrates tested.

Acridines

The activation of non-phosphorylating electron transport by adenine nucleotides in Jerusalem-artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) mitochondria.

In isolated plant mitochondria the oxidation of both succinate and exogenous NADH responded in the expected manner to the addition of ADP or uncoupling agents, and the uncoupled rate of respiration was often in excess of the rate obtained in the presence of ADP. However, the oxidation of NAD+-linked substrates responded in a much more complex manner to the addition of ADP or uncoupling agents such as carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone to mitochondria oxidizing pyruvate plus malate failed to result in a reliable stimulation; this uncoupled rate could be stimulated by adding AMP or ADP in the presence of oligomycin or bongkrekic acid. Spectrophometric measurements showed that the addition of AMP or ADP resulted in the simultaneous oxidation of endogenous nicotinamide nucleotide and the reduction of cytochrome b. ADP was only effective in bringing about these changes in redox state in the presence of Mg2+ whereas AMP did not require Mg2+. It was concluded that AMP activated the flow of electrons from endogenous nicotinamide nucleotide to cytochrome b, possible at the level of the internal NADH dehydrogenase.

Adenosine Diphosphate

The control of the adenosine triphosphatase of Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores by divalent cations and the membrane high energy state.

1. The rate of ATP hydrolysis, catalysed by Rhodospirilum rubrum chromatophores is accelerated by low concentrations and inhibited by high concentrations of uncoupling agent. 2. The inhibition at high concentrations of uncoupling agent is potentiated by the presence of free magnesium ions. At low uncoupler concentrations magnesium has no effect on the rate of ATP hydrolysis. 3. Inhibition of ATP hydrolysis by high concentrations of uncoupling agent and free magnesium ions is reversed by illumination. Illumination has less effect at low magnesium concentrations. 4. Free calcium ions inhibit ATP hydrolysis independently of the coupled state of the membrane. 5. Under coupled conditions, magnesium ions can overcome the inhibition induced by calcium. The two ions complete for the same site on the enzyme. 6. Inhibition by free magnesium in highly uncoupled chromatophores and inhibition by free calcium are both non-competitive with respect to the divalent cation-ATP substrate. 7. These data are consistent with a model in which divalent cations can bind to a site on the enzyme which is distinct from the substrate site. The regulation of the enzyme activity by the high energy state of the membrane is dependent on the occupant of this site.

Adenosine Triphosphatases

The control of tricarboxylate-cycle oxidations in blowfly flight muscle. The steady-state concentrations of citrate, isocitrate 2-oxoglutarate and malate in flight muscle and isolated mitochondria.

1. Blowfly (Phormia regina) flight-muscle mitochondria were allowed to oxidize pyruvate under a variety of experimental conditions, and determinations of the citrate, isocitrate, 2-oxoglutarate and malate contents of both the mitochondria and the incubation medium were made. For each intermediate a substantial portion of the total was present within the mitochondria. 2. Activation of respiration by either ADP or uncoupling agent resulted in a decreased content of citrate and isocitrate and an increased content of 2-oxoglutarate and malate when the substrate was pyruvate, APT and HCO3 minus. Such a decrease in citrate content was obscured when the substrate was pyruvate and proline owing to a large rise in the total content of tricarboxylate-cycle intermediates in the presence of proline and ADP. 3. An experiment involving oligomycin and uncoupling agent demonstrated that the ATP/ADP ratio is the main determinant of flux through the tricarboxylate cycle, with the redox state of nicotinamide nucleotide being of lesser importance. 4. Addition of ADP and Ca-2+ to activate the oxidation of both glycerol 3-phosphate and pyruvate, simulating conditions on initiation of flight, gave a decrease in citrate and isocitrate and an increase in 2-oxoglutarate and malate content. 5. There was a good correlation between these results with isolated flight-muscle mitochondria and the changes found in fly thoraces after 30s and 2 mihorax. 6. It is concluded that NAD-isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.41) controls the rate of pyruvate oxidation in both resting fly flight muscle in vivo and isolated mitochondria in state 4 (nomenclature of Change & Williams, 1955).

Adenosine Diphosphate

Energy-conserving reactions in phosphorylating electron-transport particles from Nitrobacter winogradskyi. Activation of nitrite oxidation by the electrical component of the protonmotive force.

1. In electron-transport particles (ET particles) prepared from Nitrobacter winogradskyi, the uncoupling agent carbonyl cyanide phenylhydrazone increased the rate of NADH oxidation but decreased the rate of oxidation of NO2-. Its effectiveness in stimulating NADH oxidation closely paralleled its effectiveness in inhibiting NO2- oxidation. 2. In the presence of ADP and phosphate the oxidation of NADH was stimulated, whereas the oxidation of NO2- was inhibited. In the presence of excess of Pi the concentration dependence with respect to ADP was the same for acceleration of NADH oxidation and inhibition of NO2- oxidation. 3. Oligomycin inhibited NADH oxidation and stimulated the oxidation of NO2-. The concentration of oligomycin required to produce half-maximal effect in both systems was the same. 4. The apparent Km for NO2- was not affected by ADP together with Pi, by uncoupling agent or by oligomycin. 5. With NADH as substrate, classical respiratory control was observed. With NO2- as substrate the respiratory-control ratio was less than unity. 6. A reversible uptake of H+ accompanied the oxidation of NO2- by ET particles. 7. In the presence of NH4Cl or cyclohexylamine hydrochloride, H+ uptake was abolished and increased rates of NO2- oxidation were observed. When valinomycin was present in the reaction medium, low concentrations of NH4Cl inhibited NO2- oxidation. 8. Pretreatment of ET particles with oligomycin enhanced the stimulation of NO2- oxidation induced by NH4Cl or by cyclohexylamine hydrochloride. Pretreatment with the uncoupler carbonyl cyanide phenylhydrazone prevented these stimulations. 9. In the presence of dianemycin together with K+, the uptake of H+ was abolished and the rate of NO2- oxidation was increased. In contrast, in the presence of valinomycin together with K+, the uptake of H+ was increased, and the rate of NO2- oxidation decreased. 10. Sodium tetraphenylboron was found to be an inhibitor of NO2- oxidation, but caused a stimulation of NADH oxidation which was dependent on the presence of NH4Cl or cyclohexylamine hydrochloride. 11. It is concluded that the enhanced rate of NO2- oxidation observed in the absence of energy-dissipating processes clearly relates to some state before the involvement of adenine nucleotides, and it is suggested that the oxidation of NO2- generates a protonmotive force, the electrical component of which controls the rate of NO2- oxidation.

Adenosine Diphosphate

Studies on energy-linked reactions: isolation, characterisation and genetic analysis of trialkyl-tin-resistant mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae resistant to triethyl tin sulphate have been isolated and are cross-resistant to other trialkyl tin salts. Triethyl-tin-resistant mutants fall into two general phenotypic classes: class 1 and class 2. Class 1 mutants are cross-resistant to a variety of inhibitors and uncoupling agents which affect mitochondrial membranes (oligomycin, ossamycin, valinomycin, antimycin, erythromycin, chloramphenicol, '1799', tetrachlorotrifluoromethyl benzimidazole carbonylcyanide-m-chlorophenylhydrazone and cycloheximide). Class 2 mutants are specifically resistant to trithyl tin and the uncoupling agent "1799' [bis-(hexafluoroacetonyl)-acetone]. Triethyl tin at neutral pH values is a specific inhibitor of mitochondrial energy conservation reactions and prevents growth on oxidisable substrates such as glycerol and ethanol. Triethyl-tin-resistant mutants grow normally on glucose and ethanol in the presence of triethyl tin (10 muM). Biochemical studies indicate that the mutation involves a modification of the triethyl tin binding site on the mitochondrial inner membrane, probably the ATP-synthetase complex. Triethyl tin resistance/sensitivity in yeast is determined by cytoplasmic (mitochondrial) and nuclear genes. The mutants fall into a nuclear and a cytoplasmic (mitochondrial) class corresponding to the phenotypic cross-resistance classes 1 and 2. In the cytoplasmic mutants the triethyl tin resistance segregates mitotically and the resistance determinat is deleted by the action of ethidium bromide during petite induction. Recombination studies indicate that the triethyl tin mutations are not allelic with the other mitochondrial mutations at the loci RI, RIII and OLI. This indicates that the binding or inhibitory sites of oligomycin and triethyl tin are not identical and that the triethyl tin binding site is located on a different mitochondrial gene product to those which are involved in oligomycin binding. Interaction and cooperative effects between different binding sites on the mitochondrial inner membrane have been demonstrated in studies of the effect of the insertion of the TETr phenotype into mitochondrial oligomycin-resistant mutants and provide an experimental basis for complementation studies at the ATP-synthetase level.

Adenosine Triphosphatases

[Energetics of active carbohydrate transport into mycoplasma cells].

Possible energy supply pathways of active transport of non-metabolized 3-O-methylglucose (3-O-mG) into Acholeplasma laidlawii cells are studied. 3-O-MG transport is sensitive to arsenate, inhibitors of glucolysis and membrane Mg-dependent ATPase (dicyclohexylcarbodiimide) and to uncoupling agents. It is suggested that glycolysis is the main energy source, which main enzymes are found in cell-free extracts. A. laidlawii cells are capable to glycolytic ATP synthesis using glucose as a substrate but not fructose, arginine and ethanol. ATP synthesis is also sensitive to arsenate and glycolytic inhibitors and is resistant to uncoupling agents, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, valinomycin and nigericin. Probably, hydrolysis of glycolytic ATP by membrane-bound ATPase results in the formation on a membrane of both components of proton-motive force, which supply energy for the active 3-O-MG transport. It is supported with the data on the inhibitor analysis of transport using ionic-selecive antibiotics and lipid-soluble ions.

Acholeplasma laidlawii