Specific methionine oxidation of cytochrome c in complexes with zwitterionic lipids by hydrogen peroxide: potential implications for apoptosis.

ABSTRACT: Cytochrome c (Cyt-c) has been previously shown to participate in cardiolipin (CL) oxidation and, therefore, in mitochondrial membrane permeabilization during the early events of apoptosis. The gain in this function has been ascribed to specific CL/Cyt-c interactions. Here we report that the cationic protein Cyt-c is also able to interact electrostatically with the main lipid components of the mitochondrial membranes, the zwitterionic lipids phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), through the mediation of phosphate anions that bind specifically to amino groups in the surfaces of protein and model membranes. In these complexes, Cyt-c reacts efficiently with H₂O₂ at submillimolar levels, which oxidizes the sulfur atom of the axial ligand Met80. The mo

SUBMITTER: Capdevila DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6085654 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature