Studies on dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide ubiquinone reductase. II. Purication and properties

The purification and properties of the respiratory-chain reduced nicotinamide--adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase of Torulopsis utilis

1. An NADH-ferricyanide reductase activity has been isolated from the respiratory chain of Torulopsis utilis by using detergents. The isolated enzyme contains non-haem iron, acid-labile sulphide and FMN in the molar proportions 27.5:28.4:1. The preparation is free of FAD and largely free of cytochrome. 2. The enzyme catalyses ferricyanide reduction by NADPH at about 1% of the rate with NADH, and reacts poorly with acceptors other than ferricyanide. The rates of reduction of some acceptors are, as percentages of the rate with ferricyanide: menadione, 0.35%; lipoate, 0.01%; cytochrome c, 0.065%; dichlorophenolindophenol, 0.35%; ubiquinone-1, 0.08%. 3. Several properties of submitochondrial particles of T. utilis (non-haem iron, acid-labile sulphide, FMN and an NADH-reducible electron-paramagnetic-resonance signal) were found to co-purify with the NADH-ferricyanide reductase activity. Thus about 70% of the FMN and, within the limits of accuracy of the experiments, 100% of the non-haem iron and acid-labile sulphide of submitochondrial particles derived from T. utilis cells grown under conditions of glycerol limitation (but relatively low iron availability) can be attributed to the NADH-ferricyanide reductase. 4. It was also shown that the component of submitochondrial particles specifically bleached at 460nm by NADH [species 1 of Ragan & Garland (1971)] co-purifies with the NADH-ferricyanide reductase. 5. This successful purification of an NADH dehydrogenase from T. utilis forms a starting point for investigating the molecular properties of phenotypically modified mitochondrial NADH oxidation pathways that lack energy conservation between NADH and the cytochromes.

Reaction sites of rotenone, piericidin A, and amytal in relation to the nonheme iron components of NADH dehydrogenase

The locus of inhibition of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, reduced form (NADH) oxidation in mitochondria by rotenone, piercidin A, and barbiturates is considered in the light of available information. Most lines of evidence indicate that the point of inhibition is on the O(2) side of NADH dehydrogenase. Kinetic experiments on the substrate-induced appearance of the electron paramagnetic resonance signal at g = 1.94 in membrane preparations (ETP) reveal that these inhibitors do not interfere with the reduction of the electron paramagnetic resonance detectable iron by NADH. Our spectrophotometric studies on complex I give no evidence for absorbance differences between untreated and rotenone or piericidin inhibited preparations, which can be attributed to nonheme iron. Whatever changes were observed appear to be due to cytochromes. These experiments, therefore, do not support the idea that in inhibited preparations electron transport is interrupted between the flavin and nonheme iron components of NADH dehydrogenase. The specific binding of rotenone and piericidin seems to involve both lipid and protein. The possibility that NADH dehydrogenase participates in the binding is suggested by the apparent stoichiometric relation between specific binding site titer and NADH dehydrogenase content and the profound effect of mersalyl inhibition of the enzyme on piericidin binding capacity.ETP, electron transport particle.