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Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Simultaneous Measurement of Superoxide/Hydrogen Peroxide and NADH Production by Flavin-containing Mitochondrial Dehydrogenases
Published on: February 24, 2018
Superoxide production by cytochrome bc1 complex: a mathematical model
F Guillaud1, S Dröse2, A Kowald3
1Theoretische Biophysik, Humboldt University, Invalidenstraße 42, 10115, Berlin, Germany; INSERM U1082, University of Poitiers, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, CHU of Poitiers, 6 rue de la Milétrie, 86021 Poitiers, France.
Abstract:
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in the pathophysiology of several diseases (e.g. Alzheimer or atherosclerosis) and also in the aging process. The main source of ROS in aerobic organisms is the electron transport chain (ETC) in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Superoxide is produced at complexes I and III of the ETC, starting a complex network of ROS reactions. To achieve a deeper mechanistic understanding of how ROS are generated by complex III, we developed a mathematical model that successfully describes experimental data of complex III activity in various rat tissues, the production of ROS with and without antimycin and ROS generation depending on different values of the membrane potential ∆Ψ. The model also reinforces the idea of ubiquinone acting as a redox mediator between heme bL and oxygen, as proposed earlier.
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