Lipid-substituted cytochrome oxidase: no absolute requirement of cardiolipin for activity.

The endogenous lipid of yeast cytochrome oxidase has been replaced by dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine. Thin layer chromatography of the total lipid extract from the substituted enzyme revealed phosphatidylcholine only and no cardiolipin. Gas-liquid chromatography showed that >99% of the lipid chains derived from the substituted lipid, and that cardiolipin must be <0.03 mole/mole enzyme. The activity of the lipid-substituted enzyme was 10% of the original activity and increased to 47% by addition of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine. Thus there is no absolute requirement of cardiolipin for oxidative activity.     

ESR spin-label studies of lipid-protein interactions in membranes

Lipid spin labels have been used to study lipid-protein interactions in bovine and frog rod outer segment disc membranes, in (Na+, K+)-ATPase membranes from shark rectal gland, and in yeast cytochrome oxidase-dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine complexes. These systems all display a two component ESR spectrum from 14-doxyl lipid spin-labels. One component corresponds to the normal fluid bilayer lipids. The second component has a greater degree of motional restriction and arises from lipids interacting with the protein. For the phosphatidylcholine spin label there are effectively 55 +/- 5 lipids/200,000-dalton cytochrome oxidase, 58 +/- 4 mol lipid/265,000 dalton (Na+, K+)-ATPase, and 24 +/- 3 and 22 +/- 2 mol lipid/37,000 dalton rhodopsin for the bovine and frog preparations, respectively. These values correlate roughly with the intramembrane protein perimeter and scale with the square root of the molecular weight of the protein. For cytochrome oxidase the motionally restricted component bears a fixed stoichiometry to the protein at high lipid:protein ratios, and is reduced at low lipid:protein ratios to an extent which can be quantitatively accounted for by random protein-protein contacts. Experiments with spin labels of different headgroups indicate a marked selectivity of cytochrome oxidase and the (Na+, K+)-ATPase for stearic acid and for cardiolipin, relative to phosphatidylcholine. The motionally restricted component from the cardiolipin spin label is 80% greater than from the phosphatidylcholine spin label for cytochrome oxidase (at lipid:protein = 90.1), and 160% greater for the (Na+, K+)-ATPase. The corresponding increases for the stearic acid label are 20% for cytochrome oxidase and 40% for (Na+, K+)-ATPase. The effective association constant for cardiolipin is approximately 4.5 times greater than for phosphatidylcholine, and that for stearic acid is 1.5 times greater, in both systems. Almost no specificity is found in the interaction of spin-labeled lipids (including cardiolipin) with rhodopsin in the rod outer segment disc membrane. The linewidths of the fluid spin-label component in bovine rod outer segment membranes are consistently higher than those in bilayers of the extracted membrane lipids and provide valuable information on the rate of exchange between the two lipid components, which is suggested to be in the range of 10(6)-10(7) s-1.     

Activation of beef-heart cytochrome c oxidase by cardiolipin and analogues of cardiolipin

Beef-heart cytochrome c oxidase lacking endogenous lipids can be prepared by cholate-mediated exchange with dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (Powell, G. L., Knowles, P. F. and Marsh, D. (1985) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 816, 191-194). These preparations retained practically no endogenous cardiolipin (less than 0.19 mol cardiolipin per mol of oxidase) but in Tween 80 they retained unaltered electron transport activity. Resupplementation of the dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine-substituted cytochrome oxidase with cardiolipin and cardiolipin analogues with different numbers of acyl chains or with a methylated headgroup enhanced the activity of the reconstituted enzyme to an extent dependent on the structure of the cardiolipin derivative. The Eadie-Hofstee plot showed biphasic kinetic behavior for all reconstituted preparations, even those completely lacking cardiolipin. This biphasic substrate dependence of the kinetics was simulated using the model of Brzezinski, P. and Malmstr?m, B. G. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83 (1986) 4282-4286), which implicates two interconverting enzyme conformations in the proton transport step. The activation of cytochrome c oxidase by the cardiolipin analogues could be explained in terms of an electrostatic enhancement of the surface concentrations of both cytochrome c and protons, and a facilitated interconversion between the two enzyme conformations.     

Spin-label studies on the specificity of interaction of cardiolipin with beef heart cytochrome oxidase

The selectivity of interaction of various cardiolipin analogues with beef heart cytochrome oxidase in reconstituted complexes with dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine has been studied by electron spin resonance spectroscopy, using lipids spin-labeled in the acyl chains. No difference in selectivity is observed between cardiolipin and its monolyso derivative, and similarly no selectivity is observed between phosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylcholine. Removal of the cardiolipin charge by methylation of the phosphate groups reduces but does not eliminate selectivity relative to phosphatidylcholine. The dependence of the lipid selectivity on head group and chain composition is in the order cardiolipin approximately equal to monolysocardiolipin greater than acylcardiolipin greater than dimethylcardiolipin greater than phosphatidylcholine approximately equal to lysophosphatidylcholine, where acylcardiolipin has the spin-label chain attached at the center -OH of the head group. The degree of association of the negatively charged cardiolipin derivatives with cytochrome oxidase decreases with increasing salt concentration, to a level comparable to that for dimethylcardiolipin. At high ionic strength there is still a marked selectivity relative to phosphatidylcholine. Li+ ions are more effective in screening the interaction than are Na+ ions, and divalent ions are more effective than monovalent ions. The selectivity for cardiolipin is only slightly reduced on titrating the protein to high pH. Alkylation of the protein with N-ethylmaleimide has little effect on the titration behavior. Covalent modification of the protein by reaction with citraconic anhydride decreases the selectivity of interaction with cardiolipin. It is concluded that cardiolipin possesses an additional specificity of interaction with cytochrome oxidase other than that of purely electrostatic origin.     

Cytochrome c mediates electron transfer between ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase and cytochrome c oxidase by free diffusion along the surface of the membrane.

Ubiquinol oxidase can be reconstituted from ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase (Complex III) and cytochrome c oxidase (Complex IV) whose endogenous phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine have been replaced by dimyristoylglycerophosphocholine. Phase transition of the lipid has no effect on Complex III and Complex IV activities assayed separately, but ubiquinol oxidase activity rapidly decreases as the temperature is lowered through the phase transition. A spin-labelled yeast cytochrome c derivative has been synthesized. Binding of the cytochrome c to liposomes demonstrates that only cardiolipin is involved under the conditions used for the ubiquinol oxidase experiments. In liposomes consisting of cardiolipin and dimyristoylglycerophosphocholine, e.s.r. (electron-spin-resonance) measurements show that rotational diffusion of cytochrome c is slowed in the gel phase of the latter lipid. We propose that the cytochrome c pool is bound to cardiolipin molecules, whose lateral and rotational diffusion in the bilayer is adequate to account for electron-transport rates.     

Phospholipid composition and organization of cytochrome c oxidase preparations as determined by 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance

The molecular organization as well as the composition of the phospholipids in cytochrome c oxidase preparations (bovine heart) were investigated by 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance. In the so-called 'lipid-rich' preparation the lipids were found to form a fluid bilayer around the enzyme since the 31P-NMR spectrum was characteristic of a fast, axially symmetric motion of the phosphate groups with a chemical shift anisotropy of delta sigma = -45 ppm. In contrast, the 'lipid-depleted' cytochrome c oxidase gave rise to a broader spectrum where the motion of the phospholipids was no longer axially symmetric. Nevertheless, the total width of the spectrum was still considerably narrower than observed for immobilized phospholipids in solid crystals. Both enzyme preparations were dissolved in 1% detergent solution and used for high-resolution 31P-NMR spectroscopy. Narrow lines of about 20 Hz linewidth were obtained for both types of enzyme preparations, and well-resolved resonances could be assigned to cardiolipin, phosphatidylethanolamin and phosphatidylcholine. The major differences between lipid-rich and lipid-depleted cytochrome c oxidase were the absolute amount of phospholipid associated with the protein and the relative contribution of the individual lipid classes to the 31P-NMR spectrum. For lipid-rich cytochrome c oxidase about 130 molecules phospholipid were bound per enzyme (approx. 11 cardiolipins, 54 phosphatidylethanolamines and 64 phosphatidylcholines). For lipid-depleted cytochrome c oxidase only 6-18 lipids were bound per enzyme (1 or 2 cardiolipins, 3-8 phosphatidylethanolamines and 2-8 phosphatidylcholines). In contrast to earlier suggestions that cardiolipin is the only remaining lipid in lipid-depleted cytochrome c oxidase, the 31P-NMR studies demonstrate that all three lipids remain associated with the protein.     

运动性内源自由基对大鼠肝线粒体的影响

采用大鼠耗竭游泳作为动物运动模型,用戊巴比妥酸(TBA)法测定脂质过氧化水平,薄层色谱—定磷法测定心磷脂含量,细胞色素C还原法测定细胞色素C氧化酶活性。结果如下:耗竭运动时,肝线粒体脂质过氧化水平升高24％;心磷脂含量下降21％;细胞色素C氧化酶活性下降25％。上述结果表明:耗竭运动时,机体内源自由基的产生是运动损伤和整体疲劳的原因之一。     

Studies on cytochrome oxidase. Interactions of the cytochrome oxidase protein with phospholipids and cytochrome c.

1. By the application of the principle of the sequential fragmentation of the respiratory chain, a simple-method has been developed for the isolation of phospholipid-depleted and phospholipid-rich cytochrome oxidase preparations. 2. The phospholip-rich oxidase contains about 20% lipid, including mainly phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, and cardiolipin. Its enzymic activity is not stimulated by an external lipid such as asolectin. 3. The phospholipid-depleted oxidase contains less than 0.1% lipid. It is enzymically inactive in catalyzing the oxidation of reduced cytochrome c by molecular oxygen. This activity can be fully restored by asolectin; and partially restored (approximately 75%) by purified phospholipids individually or in combination. The activity can be partially restored also by phospholipid mixtures isolated from mitochondria, from the oxidase itself, and from related preparations. Among the detergents tested only Emasol-1130 and Tween 80 show some stimulatory activity. 4. The phospholipid-depleted oxidase binds with cytochrome c evidently by "protein-protein" interactions as does the phospholipid-rich or the phospholipid-replenished oxidase to form a complex with the ratio of cytochrome c to heme a of unity. The complex prepared from phospholipid-depleted cytochrome oxidase exhibits a characteristic Soret absorption maximum at 415 nm in the difference spectrum of the carbon monoxide-reacted reduced form minus the reduced form. This 415-nm maximum is abolished by the replenishment of the complex with a phospholipid or by the dissociation of the complex in cholate or in a medium of high ionic strength. When ascorbate is used as an electron donor, the complex prepared from phospholipid-depleted cytochrome oxidase does not cause the reduction of cytochrome a3 which is in dramatic contrast to the complex from the phospholipid-rich or the phospholipid-replenished oxidase. However, dithionite reduces cytochrome a3 in all of the preparations of the cytochrome c-cytochrome oxidase complex. These facts suggest that the action of phospholipid on the electron transfer in cytochrome oxidase may be at the step between cytochromes a and a3. This conclusion is substantiated by preliminary kinetic results that the electron transfer from cytochrome a to a3 is much slower in the phospholipid-depleted than in phospholipid-rich or phospholipid-replenished oxidase. On the basis of the cytochrome c content, the enzymic activity has been found to be about 10 times higher in the system with the complex (in the presence of the replenishedhe external medium unless energy is provided, and that     

Calorimetric studies of cytochrome oxidase-phospholipid interactions

Thermotropic phase transitions in phospholipid vesicles reconstituted with mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase (EC 1.9.3.1) were studied using differential scanning calorimetry. Both dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and mixtures of DMPC and cardiolipin were used at different lipid-to-protein ratios. The incorporated protein reduces the energy absorbed during phase transitions of DMPC vesicles, and causes a small decrease in the transition temperature (tm). delta H depends on the amount of protein in the vesicles. This dependence indicates that about 72 DMPC molecules are influenced per cytochrome alpha alpha 3 monomer. The transition parameters remain unaffected by changes in ionic strength or by reduction of the enzyme. Incorporation of cytochrome oxidase depleted of subunit III into DMPC liposomes resulted in a larger decrease of tm, but the amount of perturbed phospholipids remains similar to that in the case of the intact enzyme. Incorporation of cytochrome oxidase into DMPC/cardiolipin vesicles counteracts the effect of cardiolipin in decreasing the enthalpy of the DMPC transition. Thus cytochrome oxidase segregates the phospholipids by attracting cardiolipin from the bulk lipid. Cytochrome c does not significantly affect this apparent cardiolipin 'shell' around membranous cytochrome oxidase.     

Lipid peroxidation and alterations to oxidative metabolism in mitochondria isolated from rat heart subjected to ischemia and reperfusion.

Ischemia-reperfusion injury to cardiac myocytes involves membrane damage mediated by oxygen free radicals. Lipid peroxidation is considered a major mechanism of oxygen free radical toxicity in reperfused heart. Mitochondrial respiration is an important source of these reactive oxygen species and hence a potential contributor to reperfusion injury. We have examined the effects of ischemia (30 min) and ischemia followed by reperfusion (15 min) of rat hearts, on the kinetic parameters of cytochrome c oxidase, on the respiratory activities and on the phospholipid composition in isolated mitochondria. Mitochondrial content of malonyldialdheyde (MDA), an index of lipid peroxidation, was also measured. Reperfusion was accompanied by a significant increase in MDA production. Mitochondrial preparations from control, ischemic and reperfused rat heart had equivalent Km values for cytochrome c, although the maximal activity of the oxidase was 25 and 51% less in ischemic and reperfused mitochondria than that of controls. These changes in the cytochrome c oxidase activity were associated to parallel changes in state 3 mitochondrial respiration. The cytochrome aa3 content was practically the same in these three types of mitochondria. Alterations were found in the mitochondrial content of the major phospholipid classes, the most pronounced change occurring in the cardiolipin, the level that decreased by 28 and by 50% as function of ischemia and reperfusion, respectively. The lower cytochrome c oxidase activity in mitochondria from reperfused rat hearts could be almost completely restored to the level of control hearts by exogenously added cardiolipin, but not by other phospholipids nor by peroxidized cardiolipin. It is proposed that the reperfusion-induced decline in the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase activity can be ascribed, at least in part, to a loss of cardiolipin content, due to peroxidative attack of its unsaturated fatty acids by oxygen free radicals. These findings may provide an explanation for some of the factors that lead to myocardial reperfusion injury.     

Enhanced cytochrome oxidase activity and modification of lipids in heart mitochondria from hyperthyroid rats

In order to further investigate the mechanism regulating the control of mitochondrial respiration by thyroid hormones, the effect of the hyperthyroidism on the kinetic characteristics of cytocrome c oxidase in rat heart mitochondria was studied. Mitochondrial preparations from both control and hyperthyroid rats had equivalent K_m values for cytochrome c, while the maximal activity of cytochrome oxidase was significantly increased (by around 30%) in mitochondrial rats. This enhanced activity of cytochrome oxidase was associated to a parallel increases in mitochondrial State 3 respiration. The hormone treatment resulted in a decrease in the flux control coefficient of the oxidase. The enhanced activity of cytochrome oxidase in hyperthyroid rats does not appear to be dependent on an increases in the mass of this enzyme complex in that the heme aa₃ content was equivalent in both hyperthyroid and control preparations. The Arrhenius plot characteristics differ for cytochrome oxidase activity in mitochondria from hyperthyroid rats as compared with control rats in the breakpoint of the biphasic plot is shifted to a lower temperature. Cardiolipin content was significantly increased in mitochondrial preparations from hyperthyroid rats, while there were no significant alterations in the fatty acid composition of cardiolipin of control and hyperthyroid preparations. The results support the conclusion that the enhanced cytochrome oxidase activity in heart mitochondrial preparations from hyperthyroid rats is due to a specific increase in the content of cardiolipin.     

Secondary structure of a mitochondrial signal peptide in lipid bilayer membranes

The secondary structure of the synthetic signal peptide of cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV (coxIV-25) has been measured by circular dichroism spectroscopy in different lipid environments. CoxIV-25 is polymorphic in membranes. It forms an amphiphilic alpha-helix both in negatively charged lipid bilayers (up to 49% helix) and in detergent micelles (up to 42% helix). In association with bilayers of the zwitterionic lipid phosphatidylcholine, coxIV-25 takes an aperiodic, unidentified structure. CoxIV-25 is also partially alpha-helical in bilayers of cardiolipin, mitochondrial lipid extracts and mixtures of synthetic phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol.     

Kinetic and structural differences between cytochrome c oxidases from beef liver and heart

1. The cytochrome content of beef liver mitochondria differs from that of beef heart mitochondria by an eightfold lower cytochrome aa3 and a twofold lower cytochrome b and c + c1 content. 2. The kinetic properties of cytochrome c oxidases from beef liver and heart were measured with intact cytochrome c-depleted membranes, deoxycholate-dissolved membranes, and with the isolated enzymes at various cytochrome c concentrations with an oxygen electrode. Under all conditions a higher V was found for the liver enzyme, both for the low-affinity and for the high-affinity binding site for cytochrome c. Differences were also found for the Km of the two enzymes. 3. Isolated beef heart mitochondria contained about twice as much cardiolipin than beef liver mitochondria. The isolated enzymes contained one mole cardiolipin per mole of the heart enzyme, but 2 moles cardiolipin per mole of the liver enzyme. 4. By application of a high performance sodium dodecylsulfate gel electrophoretic system the two isolated enzymes could be separated into 13 different protein components, three of which (polypeptides VIa, VIIa and VIII) were found to differ in their apparent molecular weights. The functional meaning of cytochrome c oxidase isoenzymes in liver and heart is discussed.     

The effect of cytochrome c oxidase on lipid polymorphism of model membranes containing cardiolipin

The effect of cytochrome c oxidase incorporation on the lipid polymorphism of the cardiolipin-Ca2+ system was investigated by 31P NMR and freeze-fracture electron microscopy. The integral membrane protein has a stabilizing effect on the bilayer organization of cardiolipin, in that it inhibits the Ca2+-induced HII phase formation of this lipid for Ca2+/cardiolipin molar ratios of 1-10. At a Ca2+/cardiolipin molar ratio of 25, about 80% of the lipid is organized in the HII phase and a structural phase separation occurs between the cardiolipin-Ca2+ complex organized in the hexagonal HII phase without protein and bilayer structures with incorporated protein.     

The localization of tightly bound cardiolipin in cytochrome oxidase

One to two molecules of tightly bound cardiolipin are associated with resolved fractions of cytochrome oxidase containing subunits I to III or I to IV. Large scale isolation of subunits I to IV indicates the presence of approximately 0.5 molecule of cardiolipin per molecule of subunit I. Lipoprotein staining of sodium dodecyl sulfate/urea/acrylamide gels of cytochrome oxidase support the findings that subunit I is a lipoprotein. The resistance of this tightly bound cardiolipin to organic solvent extraction suggests a specific association of some tenacity with the protein.     

Cardiolipin deficiency in Rhodobacter sphaeroides alters the lipid profile of membranes and of crystallized cytochrome oxidase, but structure and function are maintained

Many recent studies highlight the importance of lipids in membrane proteins, including in the formation of well-ordered crystals. To examine the effect of changes in one lipid, cardiolipin, on the lipid profile and the production, function, and crystallization of an intrinsic membrane protein, cytochrome c oxidase, we mutated the cardiolipin synthase (cls) gene of Rhodobacter sphaeroides, causing a >90% reduction in cardiolipin content in vivo and selective changes in the abundances of other lipids. Under these conditions, a fully native cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) was produced, as indicated by its activity, spectral properties, and crystal characteristics. Analysis by MALDI tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) revealed that the cardiolipin level in CcO crystals, as in the membranes, was greatly decreased. Lipid species present in the crystals were directly analyzed for the first time using MS/MS, documenting their identities and fatty acid chain composition. The fatty acid content of cardiolipin in R. sphaeroides CcO (predominantly 18:1) differs from that in mammalian CcO (18:2). In contrast to the cardiolipin dependence of mammalian CcO activity, major depletion of cardiolipin in R. sphaeroides did not impact any aspect of CcO structure or behavior, suggesting a greater tolerance of interchange of cardiolipin with other lipids in this bacterial system.     

Effect of cardiolipin on the enzymatic activity of Nitrobacter agilis cytochrome c oxidase

Effects of cardiolipin on the reaction rates of Nitrobacter agilis cytochrome c oxidase with cytochrome c were studied at various concentrations of phosphate buffer. Cardiolipin stimulated greatly the oxidation by the enzyme of horse and yeast ferrocytochromes c, especially at higher ionic strengths. However, the oxidation by the enzyme of N. agilis ferrocytochrome c-550, the physiological electron donor for the oxidase, was not accelerated by addition of cardiolipin. Analysis of the lipid compositions showed that neither the cell membranes of N. agilis nor the enzyme preparation contained cardiolipin. These results suggest that cardiolipin is not necessary for the reaction of N. agilis cytochrome c oxidase with N. agilis cytochrome c-550. On the basis of these results, the difference in the reactivity with cytochrome c of cytochrome c oxidase between the bacterial and mitochondrial enzymes is discussed.     

Cardiolipin is associated with the terminal oxidase of an extremely halophilic archaeon

Membranes having an a high content of cardiolipin were isolated from an extremely halophilic archaeon Halorubrum sp. Absorbance difference spectra of detergent-solubilized plasma membranes reduced by dithionite suggested the presence of b-type cytochromes. Non-denaturing gel electrophoresis revealed only one fraction having TMPD-oxidase activity in which cardiolipin was the major lipid component. The electroeluted fraction showed a cytochrome c oxidase activity characterized by the reduced minus oxidized difference spectra as a terminal heme-copper oxidase. The cytochrome c oxidase activity of the archaeal cardiolipin-rich membranes was inhibited by the cardiolipin-specific fluorescent marker 10-N-nonyl acridine orange (NAO) in a dose-dependent manner. The results indicate that an archaeal analogue of cardiolipin is tightly associated to archaeal terminal oxidases and is required for its optimal functioning.     

Effects of chronic alcohol consumption on the steady-state kinetics properties of cytochrome oxidase in rat liver

The effect of chronic alcohol consumption on steady-state kinetic characteristics of cytochrome oxidase in rat liver was studied using submitochondrial particles prepared from ethanol-fed and control rats. Preparations from both control and alcoholic rats had equivalent apparent Km values for cytochrome c of 13 microM in the presence of phenazine methosulfate or 19 microM with N,N,N',N'-tetramethylphenylene diamine as oxidation-reduction mediators at physiological ionic strength. Both preparations showed comparable stimulation (approx. 3-fold) of oxidase activity following detergent solubilization of the membrane and similar temperature dependence for oxidase activity. Under all conditions, preparations from alcohol-fed rats displayed 30 to 50% lower rats of cytochrome oxidase activity per unit membrane protein than those from control rats. The diminution in specific activity per mg protein was accompanied by a similar decline in heme aa3 content, as has been noted in previous studies. When expressed on a turnover number basis, the molecular activity of cytochrome oxidase (natoms O/min per nmol heme a) was equivalent in both alcoholic and control preparations. The results indicate that the intrinsic kinetic characteristics of cytochrome oxidase are not changed by alcohol consumption. The data suggest that the characteristic decline in heme aa3 content and cytochrome oxidase specific activity seen in ethanol-fed rats does not arise from alterations in the accessibility of the oxidase towards cytochrome c, or from changes in bulk phase lipid composition or physical properties. The results support the conclusion that ethanol consumption decreases the membrane content of functionally active oxidase molecules, but does not change the catalytic properties of these oxidase molecules.     

The effect of reactive oxygen species generated from the mitochondrial electron transport chain on the cytochrome c oxidase activity and on the cardiolipin content in bovine heart submitochondrial particles

The effect of reactive oxygen species (ROS), produced by the mitochondrial respiratory chain, on the activity of cytochrome c oxidase and on the cardiolipin content in bovine heart submitochondrial particles (SMP) was studied. ROS were produced by treatment of succinate-respiring SMP with antimycin A. This treatment resulted in a large production of superoxide anion, measured by epinephrine method, which was blocked by superoxide dismutase (SOD). Exposure of SMP to mitochondrial mediated ROS generation, led to a marked loss of cytochrome c oxidase activity and to a parallel loss of cardiolipin content. Both these effects were completely abolished by SOD+catalase. Added cardiolipin was able to almost completely restore the ROS-induced loss of cytochrome c oxidase activity. No restoration was obtained with peroxidized cardiolipin. These results demonstrate that mitochondrial mediated ROS generation affects the activity of cytochrome c oxidase via peroxidation of cardiolipin which is needed for the optimal functioning of this enzyme complex. These results may prove useful in probing molecular mechanism of ROS-induced peroxidative damage to mitochondria which have been proposed to contribute to aging, ischemia/reperfusion and chronic degenerative diseases.