Electron transfer between horse heart and Candida krusei cytochromes c in the free and bound states

Electron transfer between horse heart and Candida krusei cytochromes c in the free and phosvitin-bound states was examined by difference spectrum and stopped-flow methods. The difference spectra in the wavelength range of 540–560 nm demonstrated that electrons are exchangeable between the cytochromes c of the two species. The equilibrium constants of the electron transfer reaction for the free and phosvitin-bound forms, estimated from these difference spectra, were close to unity at 20°C in 20 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.4). The electron transfer rate for free cytochrome c was (2–3) · 10⁴ M^?1 · s^?1 under the same conditions. The transfer rate for the bound form increased with increase in the binding ratio at ratios below half the maximum, and was almost constant at higher ratios up to the maximum. The maximum electron exchange rate was about 2 · 10⁶ M^?1 · s^?1, which is 60–70 times that for the free form at a given concentration of cytochrome c. The activation energy of the reaction for the bound cytochrome c was equal to that for the free form, being about 10 kcal/mol. The dependence of the exchange rate on temperature, cytochrome c concentration and solvent viscosity suggests that enhancement of the electron transfer rate between cytochromes c on binding to phosvitin is due to increase in the collision frequency between cytochromes c concentrated on the phosvitin molecule.     

Oxidation and reduction of cytochrome c bound to the phosphoprotein phosvitin

The oxidation-reduction reactions and structural characteristics of phosvitin-bound cytochrome c were examined at various ratios of cytochrome c to phosvitin. At binding ratios below half the maximum, the rate constants for the oxidation reactions with cytochrome c oxidase and ferricyanide and the rate constants for the reduction reactions with cytochrome b2 and ascorbate were low, but at higher ratios these rate constants gradually increased to that of free cytochrome c and, in particular, the rate constant for oxidation by cytochrome c oxidase was raised to two to three times that of the free form. This binding-ratio dependence of the rate constants for the oxidation and reduction reactions was different from that of the net charge of the cytochrome c-phosvitin complex, implying that the negative charges of phosvitin are unlikely to modulate the rates. In contrast, the broadening of the NMR signals for the heme and methionine-80 methyl groups and the conformational transition in the vicinity of the heme moiety on change from the native to the cyanide-bound or urea-denatured form of cytochrome c showed a similar binding-ratio dependence to the rate constants for the oxidation and reduction reactions. Since the conformation and electronic structure in the heme environment of ferric and ferrous cytochromes c were not changed significantly by binding to phosvitin, and since the binding strength of cytochrome c to phosvitin at binding ratios below half the maximum is different from that at higher ratios, these findings suggest that a difference in the movement of cytochrome c in its complex with phosvitin may modulate its oxidation-reduction reactions.     

Relation of the structure and function of ferricytochrome c bound to the phosphoprotein phosvitin

The relationship between the structure and function of ferricytochrome c bound to the phosphoprotein phosvitin was investigated. The rates of reduction of phosvitin-bound ferricytochrome c by cytochrome b2, ascorbate and the superoxide radical generated by xanthine oxidase wer repressed where the binding ratio was less than half the maximum, but at higher ratios they were restored gradually with increase in the ratio. The affinity of cytochrome b2 for cytochrome c was not affected by binding of cytochrome c to phosvitin. The redox potential of the bond form was lower than that of the free form and only decreased with decrease in the ratio. The conformatin around the heme moiety and the electronic structure of the heme group of bound ferricytochrome c were similar to those of free ferricytochrome c, but the conformational stability in the vicinity of the prosthetic group was related to the binding ratio as ratios above half the maximum and was well correlated with the reduction rate. Since the binding of cytochrome c to phosvitin is much stronger at binding ratios below half the maximum, these results suggest that this binding strength exclusively affects the conformational flexibility of the heme crevice in the cytochrome molecule, thus altering the reduction rate.     

The reaction between cytochrome c1 and cytochrome c

The kinetics of electron transfer between the isolated enzymes of cytochrome c1 and cytochrome c have been investigated using the stopped-flow technique. The reaction between ferrocytochrome c1 and ferricytochrome c is fast; the second-order rate constant (k1) is 3.0 . 10(7) M-1 . s-1 at low ionic strength (I = 223 mM, 10 degrees C). The value of this rate constant decreases to 1.8 . 10(5) M-1 . s-1 upon increasing the ionic strength to 1.13 M. The ionic strength dependence of the electron transfer between cytochrome c1 and cytochrome c implies the involvement of electrostatic interactions in the reaction between both cytochromes. In addition to a general influence of ionic strength, specific anion effects are found for phosphate, chloride and morpholinosulphonate. These anions appear to inhibit the reaction between cytochrome c1 and cytochrome c by binding of these anions to the cytochrome c molecule. Such a phenomenon is not observed for cacodylate. At an ionic strength of 1.02 M, the second-order rate constants for the reaction between ferrocytochrome c1 and ferricytochrome c and the reverse reaction are k1 = 2.4 . 10(5) M-1 . s-1 and k-1 = 3.3 . 10(5) M-1 . s-1, respectively (450 mM potassium phosphate, pH 7.0, 1% Tween 20, 10 degrees C). The 'equilibrium' constant calculated from the rate constants (0.73) is equal to the constant determined from equilibrium studies. Moreover, it is shown that at this ionic strength, the concentrations of intermediary complexes are very low and that the value of the equilibrium constant is independent of ionic strength. These data can be fitted into the following simple reaction scheme: cytochrome c2+1 + cytochrome c3+ in equilibrium or formed from cytochrome c3+1 + cytochrome c2+.     

The modulation of cytochrome c electron self-exchange by site-specific chemical modification and anion binding

The site-specific chemical modification of horse heart cytochrome c at Lys-13 and -72 using 4-chloro-3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid (CDNB) increases the electron self-exchange rate of the protein. In the presence of 0.24 M cacodylate (pH* 7.0) the electron self-exchange rate constants, kex, measured by a 1H NMR saturation transfer method at 300 K, are 600, 6 X 10(3) and 6 X 10(4) M-1 X s-1 for native, CDNP-K13 and CDNP-K72 cytochromes c respectively. Repulsive electrostatic interactions, which inhibit cytochrome c electron self-exchange, are differentially affected by modification. Measurements of 1H NMR line broadening observed with partially oxidised samples of native cytochrome c show that ATP and the redox inert multivalent anion Co(CN)3-6 catalyse electron self-exchange. At saturation a limiting value of approximately 1.4 X 10(5) M-1 X s-1 is observed for both anions.     

Kinetics of photosynthetic electron transfer in artificial vesicles reconstituted with purified complexes from Rhodobacter capsulatus. I. The interaction of cytochrome c2 with the reaction center

1. The kinetics of the interaction of cytochrome c2 and photosynthetic reaction centers purified from Rhodobacter capsulatus were studied in proteoliposomes reconstituted with a mixture of phospholipids simulating the native membrane (i.e. containing 25% L-alpha-phosphatidylglycerol). 2. At low ionic strength, the kinetics of cytochrome-c2 oxidation induced by a single turnover flash was very different, depending on the concentration of cytochrome c2: at concentrations lower than 1 microM, the process was strictly bimolecular (second-order rate constant, k = 1.7 x 10(9) M-1 s-1), while at higher concentrations a fast oxidation process (half-time lower than 20 microseconds) became increasingly dominant and encompassed the total process at a cytochrome c2 concentration around 10 microM. From the concentration dependence of the amplitude of this fast phase an association constant for a reaction-center--cytochrome-c2 complex of about 10(5) M-1 was evaluated. From the fraction of photo-oxidized reaction centers promptly re-reduced in the presence of saturating concentrations of externally added cytochrome c2, it was found that in approximately 60% of the centers the cytochrome-c2 site was exposed to the external compartment. 3. Both the second-order oxidation reaction and the formation of the reaction-center--cytochrome-c2 complex were very sensitive to ionic strength. In the presence of 180 mM KCl, the value of the second-order rate constant was decreased to 7.0 x 10(7) M-1 s-1 and no fast oxidation of cytochrome c2 could be observed at 10 microM cytochrome c2. 4. The kinetics of exchange of oxidized cytochrome c2 bound to the reaction center with the reduced form of the same carrier, following a single turnover flash, was studied in double-flash experiments, varying the dark time between photoactivations over the range 30 microseconds to 5ms. The experimental results were analyzed according to aminimal kinetic model relating the amounts of oxidized cytochrome c2 and reaction centers observable after the second flash to the dark time between flashes. This model included the rate constants for the electron transfer between the primary and secondary ubiquinone acceptors of the complex (k1) and for the exchange of cytochrome c2 (k2). Fitting to the experimental results indicated a value of k1 equal to 2.4 x 10(3) s-1 and a lower limit for k2 of approximately 2 x 10(4) s-1 (corresponding to a second-order rate constant of approximately 3 x 10(9) M-1 s-1).     

Interaction of cytochrome c with the phosphorprotein phosvitin.

Candida krusei cytochrome c forms a molecular complex with phosphorprotein phosvitin in weakly alkaline solution of low ionic strength. At most, about 22 molecules of cytochrome c bind to a phosvitin molecule. The complex at the binding ratio below about 11 (half of the maximum ratio) as a much higher binding strength. Several lines of evidence indicate that the marked difference in the binding strength is due to the difference in negative charges on phosvitin molecule concerned in the binding of a cytochrome c molecule. The phosvitin-bound cytochrome c seems to have a preferred orientation with the front surface of the molecule containing the exposed heme edge in contact with the phosvitin molecule.     

Kinetics of electron transfer between mitochondrial cytochrome c and iron hexacyanides

The reduction of horse and Candida krusei cytochromes c by ferrocyanide has been studied by 1H NMR spectroscopy and the reaction found to involve a precursor complex of ferrocyanide bound to ferricytochrome c (pH* 7.4, 2H2O, I = 0.12, and 25 degrees C). The electron transfer rate constants for the reduction of the two ferricytochromes by associated ferrocyanide were found to be the same at 780 +/- 80 sec-1 but the association constants for binding of ferrocyanide to ferricytochrome c were significantly different: horse, 90 +/- 20 M-1 and Candida, 285 +/- 30 M-1. The different association constants partly accounts for the previously observed reactivity difference between horse and Candida cytochromes c. Comparison of the NMR data with data obtained by other kinetic methods has allowed the electron transfer rate constant for the oxidation of ferrocytochrome c by associated ferricyanide to be determined. This was found to be 4.6 +/- 1 X 10(4) sec-1.     

Kinetics of electron transfer between cytochrome c and laccase.

Rate constants have been determined for the electron-transfer reactions between reduced horse heart cytochrome c and resting Rhus vernicifera laccase as a function of pH, ionic strength, and temperature. The second-order rate constant for the oxidation of reduced cytochrome c was determined to be k = 125 M-1 s-1 at 25 degrees C in 0.2 M phosphate buffer at pH 6.0 with the activation parameters delta H++ = 16.2 kJ mol-1 and delta S++ = 28.9 J mol-1 K-1. The rate constants increased with decreasing buffer concentration, indicating that electron transfer from cytochrome c to laccase is favored by the local electrostatic interaction (ZAZB = -0.9 at pH 6 and -1.3 at pH 4.8) between the basic proteins with positive net charges. From the increase of the rate of electron transfer with decreasing pH, one of the driving forces of the reaction was suggested to be the difference in the redox potentials between the type 1 copper in laccase and the central iron in cytochrome c. Further, on addition of one hexametaphosphate anion per cytochrome c molecule, the rate of the electron transfer was increased, probably because the association of both proteins became more favorable.     

Reduction of oxidized cytochrome c by ascorbate ion

The kinetics and mechanism of the reduction of oxidized cytochrome c by ascorbate has been investigated in potassium nitrate, potassium 4-morpholineethanesulfonate (KMes), potassium sulfate and potassium ascorbate media. The results are consistent with simple second order electron transfer from ascorbate dianion to cytochrome c and do not support electron transfer from an ascorbate dianion bound to the protein of the cytochrome as recently proposed by Myer and Kumar. A rate constant of 8 X 10(5) M-1 X s-1 (25 degrees C, ionic strength, 0.1) was found for the electron-transfer step. This rate constant is essentially independent of the specific ions used in controlling ionic strength.     

Catalytic activity of cytochromes c and c1 in mitochondria and submitochondrial particles.

1. Beef heart mitochondria have a cytochrome c1:c:aa3 ratio of 0.65:1.0:1.0 as isolated; Keilin-Hartree submitochondrial particles ahve a ratio of 0.65:0.4:1.0. More than 50% of the submitochondrial particle membrane is in the 'inverted' configuration, shielding the catalytically active cytochrome c. The 'endogenous' cytochrome c of particles turns over at a maximal rate between 450 and 550 s-1 during the oxidation of succinate or ascorbate plus TMPD; the maximal turnover rate for cytochrome c in mitochondria is 300-400 s-1, at 28 degrees-30 degrees C, pH 7.4. 2. Ascorbate plus N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylene diamine added to antimycin-treated particles induces anomalous absorption increases between 555 and 565 nm during the aerobic steady state, which disappear upon anaerobiosis; succinate addition abolishes this cycle and permits the partial resolution of cytochrome c1 and cytochrome c steady states at 552.5-547 nm and 550-556.5 nm, respectively. 3. Cytochrome c1 is rather more reduced than cytochrome c during the oxidation of succinate and of ascorbate + N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylene diamine in both mitochondria and submitochondrial particles; a near equilibrium condition exists between cytochromes c1 and c in the aerobic steady state, with a rate constant for the c1 leads to c reduction step greater than 10(3) s-1. 4. The greater apparent response of the c/aa3 electron transfer step to salts, the hyperbolic inhibition of succinate oxidation by azide and cyanide, and the kinetic behaviour of the succinate-cytochrome c reductase system, are all explicable in terms of a near-equilibrium condition prevailing at the c1/c step. Endogenous cytochrome c of mitochondria and submitochondrial particles is apparently largely bound to cytochrome aa3 units in situ. Cytochrome c1 can either reduce the cytochrome c-cytochrome aa3 complex directly, or requires only a small extra amount of cytochrome c to carry the full electron transfer flux.     

Kinetic investigations of the reactions of cytochrome c oxidase with hydrogen peroxide

The reaction of H2O2 with reduced cytochrome c oxidase was investigated with rapid-scan/stopped-flow techniques. The results show that the oxidation rate of cytochrome a3 was dependent upon the peroxide concentration (k = 2 X 10(4) M-1 X s-1). Cytochrome a and CuA were oxidised with a maximal rate of approx. 20 s-1, indicating that the rate of internal electron transfer was much slower with H2O2 as the electron acceptor than with O2 (k greater than or equal to 700 s-1). Although other explanations are possible, this result strongly suggests that in the catalytic cycle with oxygen as a substrate the internal electron-transfer rate is enhanced by the formation of a peroxo-intermediate at the cytochrome a3-CuB site. It is shown that H2O2 took up two electrons per molecule. The reaction of H2O2 with oxidised cytochrome c oxidase was also studied. It is shown that pulsed oxidase readily reacted with H2O2 (k approximately 700 M-1 X s-1). Peroxide binding is followed by an H2O2-independent conformational change (k = 0.9 s-1). Resting oxidase partially bound H2O2 with a rate similar to that of pulsed oxidase; after H2O2 binding the resting enzyme was converted into the pulsed conformation in a peroxide-independent step (k = 0.2 s-1). Within 5 min, 55% of the resting enzyme reacted in a slower process. We conclude from the results that oxygenated cytochrome c oxidase probably is an enzyme-peroxide complex.     

Laser flash photolysis studies of electron transfer between ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase and several high-potential redox proteins

Complex formation and the kinetics of electron transfer between ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR) and two structurally homologous acidic 4Fe-4S high-potential ferredoxins (HiPIP's) from Ectothiorhodospira halophila (HP1 and HP2) and two structurally homologous cytochromes c2 from Paracoccus denitrificans and Rhodospirillum rubrum (PC2, and RC2, respectively) have been investigated by gel filtration and laser flash photolysis techniques. Gel filtration studies indicated that complex formation occurred between FNRox and HP1ox or HP2ox at low ionic strength (10 mM) and that the complexes were completely dissociated at high ionic strength (310 mM). Laser flash photolysis using lumiflavin as the reductant demonstrated that both free HP1ox and HP2ox reacted primarily with the anionic form of fully reduced lumiflavin (LFH-), whereas FNR was unreactive. Second-order rate constants of 1 X 10(6) and 0.8 X 10(6) M-1 s-1 were obtained for these reactions at 10 mM ionic strength. Increasing the ionic strength to 310 mM resulted in an approximately 1.5-fold increase in the rate constant. Inclusion of stoichiometric amounts of FNRox into the reaction mixture at low ionic strength led to a 2.5-fold increase in the rate constants. The reaction of 5-deazariboflavin semiquinone (5-dRf.) with the oxidized HiPIP's was also investigated by laser flash photolysis. Second-order rate constants of 3.0 X 10(8) M-1 s-1 (HP1) and 2.5 X 10(8) M-1 s-1 (HP2) were obtained for the free proteins at 10 mM ionic strength. Under the same conditions, 5-dRf. reacted with free FNRox, resulting in the formation of the neutral protein-bound semiquinone (FNR.), with a second-order rate constant of 6 X 10(8) M-1 s-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Cytochrome b2, an electron carrier between flavocytochrome b2 and cytochrome c. Rapid kinetic characterization of the electron-transfer parameters with ionic-strength-dependence.

The oxidation-reduction properties of free cytochrome b2 isolated by controlled proteolysis from flavocytochrome b2, i.e. the flavodehydrogenase-bound cytochrome b2, were investigated by using stopped-flow spectrophotometry. The rapid kinetics of the reduction of cytochrome b2 by flavocytochrome b2 in the presence of L-lactate are reported. The self-exchange rate constant between reduced cytochrome b2 bound to the flavodehydrogenase and free cytochrome b2 was determined to be 10(5) M-1 X S-1 at 5 degrees C, I 0.2 and pH 7.0. The specific electron-transfer reaction between reduced cytochrome b2 and cytochrome c was also studied, giving an apparent second-order rate constant of 10(7) M-1 X S-1 at 5 degrees C, I 0.2 and pH 7.0. This electron-exchange rate is slightly modulated by ionic strength, following the Debye-Hückel relationship with a charge factor Z1Z2 = -1.9. Comparison of these data with those for the reduction of cytochrome c by flavodehydrogenase-bound cytochrome b2 [Capeillère-Blandin (1982) Eur. J. Biochem. 128, 533-542] leads to the conclusion that the intramolecular electron exchange between haem b2 and haem c within the reaction complex occurs at a rate very similar to that determined experimentally in presence of the flavodehydrogenase domain. The low reaction rate observed with free cytochrome b2 is ascribed to the low stability of the reaction complex formed between free cytochrome b2 and cytochrome c.     

Cytochrome c peroxidase activity of a protease-modified form of cytochrome c-552 from the denitrifying bacterium Pseudomonas perfectomarina

Protease activity present in aerobically grown cells of Pseudomonas perfectomarina, protease apparently copurified with cytochrome c-552, and trypsin achieved a limited proteolysis of the diheme cytochrome c-552. That partial lysis conferred cytochrome c peroxidase activity upon cytochrome c-552. The removal of a 4000-Da peptide explains the structural changes in the cytochrome c-552 molecule that resulted in the appearance of both cytochrome c peroxidase activity (with optimum activity at pH 8.6) and a high-spin heme iron. The oxidized form of the modified cytochrome c-552 bound cyanide to the high-spin ferric heme with a rate constant of (2.1 +/- 0.1) X 10(3) M-1 s-1. The dissociation constant was 11.2 microM. Whereas the intact cytochrome c-552 molecule can be half-reduced by ascorbate, the cytochrome c peroxidase was not reducible by ascorbate, NADH, ferrocyanide, or reduced azurin. Dithionite reduced the intact protein completely but only half-reduced the modified form. The apparent second-order rate constant for dithionite reduction was (7.1 +/- 0.1) X 10(2) M-1 s-1 for the intact protein and (2.2 +/- 0.1) X 10(3) M-1 s-1 for the modified form. In contrast with other diheme cytochrome c peroxidases, reduction of the low-spin heme was not necessary to permit ligand binding by the high-spin heme iron.     

Electron transfer between azurin from Alcaligenes faecalis and cytochrome c551 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The electron transfer equilibrium and kinetics between azurin from Alcaligenes faecalis and cytochrome c551 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been studied. The equilibrium constant K = ([Cyt(III)] . [Az(I)])/([Cyt(II)] . [Az(II))]) = 0.5 at 25 degrees C is about seven times smaller than that observed between the cytochrome c551 and the titrations confirmed a 43-mV difference between the mid-point potentials of +266 mV and +309 mV for the Alcaligenes and Pseudomonas azurins respectively. The kinetics of the reaction between Alcaligenes azurin and Pseudomonas cytochrome c551 were investigated by the temperature-jump chemical relaxation method. Only a single relaxation mode was observed throughout the range of concentrations and temperatures examined. Thus, the slow relaxation time observed in the reaction between P. aeruginosa azurin and cytochrome c551 is not observed with the Alcaligenes azurin. The simplest mechanism that can therefore be ascribed to the investigated system is: [formula: see text]. This scheme is similar to that proposed earlier for the reaction between P. aeruginosa azurin and cytochrome c551 but does not involve the conformational transition proposed for azurin. The specific rates for the electron transfer are still fast: 1.8 x 10(6) M-1 . s-1 and 3.0 x 10(6) M-1 . s-1 respectively at 25 degrees C.     

Kinetics and mechanism of electron transfer from dithionite to microsomal cytochrome b5 and to forms of the protein associated with charged and neutral vesicles.

The kinetics of the dithionite reduction of calf liver microsomal cytochrome b5, both free in solution and bound to dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine vesicles, are consistent with electron transfer between SO2- and the exposed haem edge of the protein. The vesicle membrane does not hinder the approach of SO2- to the site of electron transfer on the protein. In 0.01 M-Tris/HCl buffer, pH 8.1, ket (25 degrees C), delta H et and delta S et are estimated to be 1.44 x 10(6) M-1.s-1, 7.8 kJ.mol-1 and -92.3 J.K-1.mol-1 respectively. The cytochrome exhibits an acid dissociation, pKa 9.3 +/- 0.3, and the rate of electron transfer from dithionite to the high-pH form is about one-third of that to the neutral-pH form. The effect of ionic strength on the kinetics is consistent with a reaction between like-charged species and is discussed in terms of a number of theoretical models. In systems comprising cytochrome b5 and negatively charged vesicles, the effect of increasing the charge density of mixed dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine/dicetyl phosphate vesicles and of increasing the concentration of dicetyl phosphate vesicles is to lower the rate of electron transfer from dithionite to the haem moiety of the cytochrome. With vesicles of high charge density, however, the kinetics are complicated by vesicle-induced conformation changes of the cytochrome.     

Role of the hinge protein in the electron transfer between cardiac cytochrome c1 and c. Equilibrium constants and kinetic probes

A role of the hinge protein is studied in the electron transfer reaction between cytochromes c1 and c, using highly purified "one-band" cytochrome c1 and "two-band" cytochrome c1. The results show that the hinge protein (Hp), which is essential for a stable ionic strength-sensitive c1-Hp-c complex, seems to play a certain role in electron transfer between cytochromes c1 and c; Keq for electron transfer reaction between cytochromes c1 and c in the presence of the hinge protein is found to be about 40% higher than that in the absence of the hinge protein at low ionic strength, but no difference exists at high ionic strength. We propose a hypothesis that the hinge protein may function as regulator for the electron transfer reaction between cytochromes c1 and c, and this may be at least one of the roles of the hinge protein in mitochondria.     

Preliminary 1H-NMR studies of the interaction between cytochrome c3 and ferredoxin I from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans Norway

The complex formation of two electron transfer proteins, cytochrome c3 and ferredoxin I from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans Norway, has been shown by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Presence of ferredoxin I produces ferricytochrome c3 1H-NMR spectrum modifications. The chemical shift of perturbated heme methyl resonances has been used to determine the stoichiometry of the complex. At pH 7.6 and 20 degrees C, the two proteins were found to form a complex 1:1 with an association constant, KA, of 10(4) M-1. Two of the four hemes are affected by presence of ferredoxin I and may be involved in the electron transfer sites. The heme methyl resonances are average resonances of free and bound cytochrome c3 resonances, indicating a fast exchange process on the NMR time scale.     

Demonstration of short-lived complexes of cytochrome c with cytochrome bc1 by EPR spectroscopy: implications for the mechanism of interprotein electron transfer

One of the steps of a common pathway for biological energy conversion involves electron transfer between cytochrome c and cytochrome bc(1). To clarify the mechanism of this reaction, we examined the structural association of those two proteins using the electron transfer-independent electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques. Drawing on the differences in the continuous wave EPR spectra and saturation recoveries of spin-labeled bacterial and mitochondrial cytochromes c recorded in the absence and presence of bacterial cytochrome bc(1), we have exposed a time scale of dynamic equilibrium between the bound and the free state of cytochrome c at various ionic strengths. Our data show a successive decrease of the bound cytochrome c fraction as the ionic strength increases, with a limit of approximately 120 mm NaCl above which essentially no bound cytochrome c can be detected by EPR. This limit does not apply to all of the interactions of cytochrome c with cytochrome bc(1) because the cytochrome bc(1) enzymatic activity remained high over a much wider range of ionic strengths. We concluded that EPR monitors just the tightly bound state of the association and that an averaged lifetime of this state decreases from over 100 mus at low ionic strength to less than 400 ns at an ionic strength above 120 mm. This suggests that at physiological ionic strength, the tightly bound complex on average lasts less than the time needed for a single electron exchange between hemes c and c(1), indicating that productive electron transfer requires several collisions of the two molecules. This is consistent with an early idea of diffusion-coupled reactions that link the soluble electron carriers with the membranous complexes, which, we believe, provides a robust means of regulating electron flow through these complexes.