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Inhibition of Electron Transport and the Swelling of Isolated Mitochondria

Nature volume 183, pages 1525–1526 (1959)Cite this article

Abstract

THE swelling of isolated rat-liver mitochondria appears under certain conditions to be dependent on their respiration1. This view is based on the following observations. (a) Mitochondria ‘aged’ by storage for one day in 0.44 M sucrose at 0° C. did not swell in presence of phosphate or thyroxine unless an oxidizable substrate was added as well. (b) With succinate as the substrate, malonate inhibited the swelling and amytal did not; whereas with β-hydroxybutyrate, amytal inhibited and malonate did not. (Amytal prevents oxidation of substrates with diphosphopyridine nucleotide-linked dehydrogenases, but has no effect on that of succinate2.) (c) Cyanide inhibited swelling induced by phosphate, but not when electron transport was restored by addition of ferricyanide as terminal acceptor3, (d) Antimycin A inhibited swelling in presence of phosphate with various substrates1,3. The effects of amytal and antimycin on swelling have now been investigated further.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge,

    J. B. CHAPPELL & G. D. GREVILLE

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  1. J. B. CHAPPELL
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  2. G. D. GREVILLE
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CHAPPELL, J., GREVILLE, G. Inhibition of Electron Transport and the Swelling of Isolated Mitochondria. Nature 183, 1525–1526 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/1831525a0

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