General effects of beryllium sulfate on isolated rat heart muscle mitochondrial fraction

The effects caused by Be2+ on the properties of isolated rat heart muscle mitochondria were investigated. It has been shown that Be2+ enhances oxygen uptake by the mitochondrial fraction in the presence of oxidizable substrates. This is due to the uncoupling effect caused by Be2+ on the mitochondria, which also undergoes a swelling effect by this divalent ion that can be accounted by the retention of Be2+ by the mitochondria. The saturation of the organellae binding sites occurs when the concentration of the ion reaches a maximum of 6.2 mumoles/mg protein.