The mechanism of electron gating in proton pumping cytochrome c oxidase: the effect of pH and temperature on internal electron transfer

Electron-transfer reactions following flash photolysis of the mixed-valence cytochrome oxidase-CO complex have been measured at 445, 598 and 830 nm between pH 5.2 and 9.0 in the temperature range of 0-25 degrees C. There is a rapid electron transfer from the cytochrome a3-CuB pair to CuA (time constant: 14200 s-1), which is followed by a slower electron transfer to cytochrome a. Both the rate and the amplitude of the rapid phase are independent of pH, and the rate in the direction from CuA to cytochrome a3-CuB is practically independent of temperature. The second phase depends strongly on pH due to the titration of an acid-base group with pKa = 7.6. The equilibrium at pH 7.4 corresponds to reduction potentials of 225 and 345 mV for cytochrome a and a3, respectively, from which it is concluded that the enzyme is in a different conformation compared to the fully oxidized form. The results have been used to suggest a series of reaction steps in a cycle of the oxidase as a proton pump. Application of the electron-transfer theory to the temperature-dependence data suggests a mechanism for electron gating in the pump. Reduction of both cytochrome a and CuA leads to a conformational change, which changes the structure of cytochrome a3-CuB in such a way that the reorganizational barrier for electron transfer is removed and the driving force is increased.