Proton translocation by the H+ ‐ATPase of mitochondria

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Abstract
A study is presented on the effect of chemical modification of thiol groups on proton conduction by the H+-ATPase complex in ‘inside out’ submitochondrial particles, before and after removal of the F1 moiety, and by F0 liposomes. The results obtained show that modification with monofunctional reagents [N-ethylmaleimide, 2,2′-dithiobispyridine, mersalyl and N-(7-dimethylamino-4-methyl-coumarinyl)-maleimide] of thiol residues in membrane integral proteins of F0 results in inhibition of proton conduction. Comparison of the inhibitory effects with the binding of [14C]N-ethylmaleimide to the various F0 polypeptides indicates that the inhibition of proton conduction by thiol reagents was correlated with modification of the 25-kDa, 11-kDa and 9-kDa (N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-binding protein) proteins. Involvement of the last component is supported by the observation that modification by thiol reagents depressed the binding of N,N′-decyclo[14C]hexylcarbodiimide to the 9-kDa protein.