Association of cytochrome c with membrane-bound cytochrome c oxidase proceeds parallel to the membrane rather than in bulk solution.

ABSTRACT: Electron transfer between the water-soluble cytochrome c and the integral membrane protein cytochrome c oxidase (COX) is the terminal reaction in the respiratory chain. The first step in this reaction is the diffusional association of cytochrome c toward COX, and it is still not completely clear whether cytochrome c diffuses in the bulk solution while encountering COX, or whether it prefers to diffuse laterally on the membrane surface. This is a rather crucial question, since in the latter case the association would be strongly dependent on the lipid composition and the presence of additional membrane proteins. We applied Brownian dynamics simulations to investigate the effect of an atomistically modeled dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine membrane on the association behavior of cytochrome c t

SUBMITTER: Spaar A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2717263 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature