Most of the oxygen consumed by aerobic organisms is reduced to water by the enzyme cytochrome c oxidase in the terminal reaction of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Since oxygen in the ground state is in a triplet configuration (with two unpaired electrons in the outer shell) its reduction to water must occur in four consecutive one-electron steps. Some of the partially reduced oxygen inter...

To investigate the physiological diversity in the regulation and control of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, we determined the composition and functional features of the respiratory chain in muscle, heart, liver, kidney, and brain. First, we observed important variations in mitochondrial content and infrastructure via electron micrographs of the different tissue sections. Analyses of re...

The respiratory chain and oxidative phosphorylation are of utter importance for a cell’s metabolism. Here, the energy won from ingested food is being converted into our body’s energy unit (adenosine triphosphate). As the name respiratory chain suggests, oxygen also plays an important role. The following article will explain how exactly this complex mechanism works and which substances may disab...

The mitochondrial electron transport chain transforms energy satisfying cellular demand and generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) that act as metabolic signals or destructive factors. Therefore, knowledge of the possible modes and bifurcations of electron transport that affect ROS signaling provides insight into the interrelationship of mitochondrial respiration with cellular metabolism. Here...

We generated mitochondrial late-onset neurodegeneration (MILON) mice with postnatal disruption of oxidative phosphorylation in forebrain neurons. They develop normally and display no overt behavioral disturbances or histological changes during the first 5 months of life. The MILON mice display reduced levels of mitochondrial DNA and mitochondrial RNA from 2 and 4 months of age, respectively, an...

The primary recognized function of cytochrome c is to act as an electron carrier transferring electrons from complex III to complex IV in the respiratory chain of mitochondria. Recent studies on cell apoptosis reveal that cytochrome c is responsible for the programmed cell death when it is released from mitochondria to cytoplasm. In this study we present evidence showing that cytochrome c plays...

The mitochondrial presequence translocase transports preproteins to either matrix or inner membrane. Two different translocase forms have been identified: the matrix transport form, which binds the heat-shock protein 70 (Hsp70) motor, and the inner membrane-sorting form, which lacks the motor but contains translocase of inner mitochondrial membrane 21 (Tim21). The sorting form interacts with th...

BACKGROUND: Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) and Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) are the most important and pathogenic mycoplasma in chicken production. The tendency of avian mycoplasma for interaction with other pathogen is well-known. Interaction within several disease-producing factors in respiratory tract exacerbate the disease and known as multicausal respiratory disease. OBJECTIVES: In recent years...

Mitochondria play critical roles in meeting cellular energy demand, in cell death, and in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and stress signaling. Most Caenorhabditis elegans loss-of-function (lf) mutants in nuclear-encoded components of the respiratory chain are non-viable, emphasizing the importance of respiratory function. Chromophore-Assisted Light Inactivation (CALI) using genetically-encoded p...

Data are presented showing the result of the functioning of the mitochondrial respiratory chain in Ehrlich ascites tumour cells incubated with glucose and glutamine. The very different results obtained depending on the order of substrate addition suggest that the functioning of the respiratory chain in Ehrlich cells far-from-equilibrium maintains an intracellular dissipative structure.