The sensitivities of NADH oxidase and/or NADHubiquinone reductase activities of submitochondrial particles and purified complex I towards N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) and other SH-reagents were studied. Only thermally de-activated preparations [A.D. Vinogradov (1998) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1364, 169^185] were inhibited by SH-reagents whereas the redoxpulsed, activated enzyme was resistant to the inhibitors. The pH profile of the pseudo-first order inhibition rate suggested a pK a of about 10 for the de-activation-dependent, NEM-reactive sulfhydryl group. NADH-ubiquinone reductase of activated particles treated with an excess of NEM followed by removal of the inhibitor was still capable of slow reversible active/de-active transition. When active, NEM-treated particles were de-activated and further inhibited by N-fluorescein maleimide, specific incorporation of the fluorescence label into low molecular mass polypeptide was evident. Comparison of the specific fluorescence labeling of submitochondrial particles, crude and purified complex I showed that the active/de-active state-dependent SHgroup is located in a 15 kDa polypeptide (most likely in the 15 kDa IP subunit of the iron-sulfur protein-containing fraction of complex I).z 1999 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

The interaction of rotenone with active ('pulsed') and thermally de-activated ('resting') membrane-bound Complex I (Kotlyar, A.B. and Vinogradov, A.D. (1990) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1019, 151-158) as revealed by inhibition of NADH-ubiquinone- and ubiquinol-NAD+ reductase activities was studied. Ki = 1 x 10(-9) M, k(on) = 5 x 10(7) M-1 min-1 and k(off) = 0.02 min-1 (inhibitory effect of rotenone on NADH oxidation) and Ki = 2 x 10(-8) M (inhibition of reverse electron transfer) were determined for pulsed enzyme. The equilibrium between de-activated and active enzyme is reached (K approximately 100) after the slow strongly temperature-dependent de-activation process has completed. Rotenone partially prevents and reverses the enzyme de-activation. About two order of magnitude difference in affinity of rotenone to the active and de-activated forms of the enzyme was demonstrated. The strong difference in rotenone sensitivity of the direct and reverse reactions can not be accounted for delta mu H(+)-dependence of rotenone binding. We propose that two rotenone-specific inhibitory sites exist in Complex I: one is involved in NADH oxidation by ubiquinone and the other is operating in ubiquinol-NAD+ reductase reaction. The affinities of rotenone for both sites are strongly altered upon the slow enzyme active/inactive transition.

The steady-state kinetics of the NADH dehydrogenase activity of the three-subunit flavo-iron-sulfur protein (FP, Type II NADH dehydrogenase) in the presence of the one-electron acceptor hexammineruthenium(III) (HAR) were studied. The maximal catalytic activities of FP with HAR as electron acceptor calculated on the basis of FMN content were found to be approximately the same for the submitochondrial particles, Complex I and purified FP. This result shows that the protein structure responsible for the primary NADH oxidation by FP is not altered during the isolation procedure and the lower (compared with Complex I) catalytic capacity of the enzyme previously reported was due to the use of inefficient electron acceptors. Simple assay procedures for NADH dehydrogenase activity with HAR as the electron acceptor are described. The maximal activity at saturating concentrations of HAR was insensitive to added guanidine, whereas at fixed concentration of the electron acceptor, guanidine stimulated oxidation of low concentrations of NADH and inhibited the reaction at saturating NADH. The inhibitory effect of guanidine was competitive with HAR. The double-reciprocal plots 1/v vs. 1/[NADH] at various HAR concentrations gave a series of straight lines intercepting on the ordinate. The plots 1/v vs. 1/[HAR] at various NADH concentrations gave a series of straight lines intercepting in the fourth quadrant. The kinetics support the mechanism of the overall reaction where NADH is oxidized by the protein-Ru(NH3)3+(6) complex in which positively charged electron acceptor is bound at the specific site close to FMN, thus stabilizing the flavosemiquinone intermediate.

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Soluble succinate dehydrogenase prepared by butanol extraction reacts with N-ethylmaleimide according to first-order kinetics with respect to both remaining active enzyme and the inhibitor concentration. Binding of the sulfhydryl groups of the enzyme prevents its alkylation by Nethylmaleimide and inhibition by oxaloacetate. A kinetic analysis of the inactivation by alkylating reagent in the presence of succinate or malonate suggests that N-ethylmaleimide acts as a sitcdirected inhibitor. The apparent first-order rate constant of alkylation increases between pH 5.8 and 7.8 indicating a pK, value for the enzyme sulfhydryl group equal to 7.0 at 22 "C in 50 mM Trissulfate buffer. Certain anions (phosphate, citrate, maleate and acetate) decrease the reactivity of the enzyme towards the alkylating reagent. Succinate/phenazine methosulfate reductase activity measured in the presence of a saturating concentration of succinate shows the same pH-dependence as the alkylation rate by N-ethylmaleimide. The mechanism of the first step of succinate oxidation. including a nucleophilic attack of substrate by the active-site sulfhydryl group, is discussed.