The effect of varying the Mg 2؉ concentration on the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (2-OGDH) activity and the rate of oxidative phosphorylation of rat heart mitochondria was studied. The ionophore A23187 was used to modify the mitochondrial free Mg 2؉ concentration. Half-maximal stimulation (K 0.5 ) of ATP synthesis by Mg 2؉ was obtained with 0.13 ؎ 0.02 mM (n ؍ 7) with succinate (؉rotenone) and 0.48 ؎ 0.13 mM (n ؍ 6) with 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG) as substrates. Similar K 0.5 values were found for NAD(P)H formation, generation of membrane potential, and state 4 respiration with 2-OG. In the presence of ADP, an increase in P i concentration promoted a decrease in the K ] c has been determined, after stimulation with the muscarinic agonist carbachol, and a 10% increase was observed, after addition of forskolin in rat sublingual mucous acini (3). In acinar pancreatic cells, addition of acetylcholine or cholecystokinin-octapeptide promoted a significant diminution in [Mg 2ϩ ] c (4). Arginine-vasopressin and endothelin-1 induced an increment in [Mg 2ϩ ] c in muscle cells, probably through a Ca 2ϩ -mediated mechanism (5). Depletion of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive Ca 2ϩ stores, induced by ␣-adrenergic agonists, activated the uptake of Mg 2ϩ by these organelles (6). Extracellular ATP stimulated the release of 40% of cellular Mg 2ϩ in ascites cells (7); it was proposed that cAMP promoted Mg 2ϩ release through the activation of a plasma membrane Na ϩ /Mg 2ϩ antiporter (8). However, a report indicating that addition of cAMP also induced a net release of 20 -25% of total Mg 2ϩ in rat liver mitochondria (9) was not confirmed (10). In beef heart mitochondria, the transition from basal (state 4) to active (state 3) respiration led to a small, but significant elevation in the mitochondrial matrix free ] m , can modulate the activities of the 2-OGDH and the ATP synthase and, in consequence, Mg 2ϩ may affect the rate of oxidative phosphorylation in isolated rat heart mitochondria.
MATERIALS AND METHODSRat heart mitochondria were isolated from male Wistar rats of 250 -300-g weight according to a previously described method using the protease type XXVII (Nagarse) from Sigma (14).Dye Loading-Heart mitochondria were loaded with Mag-Fura-2 or BCECF (Molecular Probes) by incubating 30 -40 mg of mitochondrial protein in 2 ml of a medium composed of 250 mM sucrose, 10 mM HEPES, 1 mM EGTA (SHE medium), 1 mM MgCl 2 , 1 mM ADP, 0.2% fatty acid-free bovine serum albumin, pH 7.4, and 5 M Mag-Fura-2/AM or BCECF/AM at 25°C for 20 min. At the end of this incubation period, mitochondria were diluted 10 -15 times with ice-cold SHE medium ϩ 0.2% bovine serum albumin, centrifuged, resuspended in 1 ml of SHE medium, and kept on ice until use. Mitochondria loaded by following this procedure showed higher respiratory control values than nonloaded mitochondria, 8.6 and 4.3 (n ϭ 2), respectively, with 10 mM 2-oxoglutarate as a substrate.Determination of [Mg 2ϩ ] m -Mag-Fura-2-loaded mitochondria (0.5 mg protein/ml) were incubated in 120...