ATP induces conformational changes in mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase. Effect on the cytochrome c binding site

ATP influences the kinetics of electron transfer from cytochrome c to mitochondrial oxidase both in the membrane-embedded and detergent-solubilized forms of the enzyme. The most relevant effect is on the so-called "high affinity" binding site for cytochrome c which can be converted to "low affinity" by millimolar concentrations of ATP (Ferguson-Miller, S., Brautigan, D. L., and Margoliash, E. (1976) J. Biol. Chem. 251, 1104-1115). This phenomenon is characterized at the molecular level by the following features. ATP triggers a conformational change on the water-exposed surface of cytochrome c oxidase; in this process, carboxyl groups forming the cluster of negative charges responsible for binding cytochrome c change their accessibility to water-soluble protein modifier reagents; as a consequence the electrostatic field that controls the enzyme-substrate interaction is altered and cytochrome c appears to bind differently to oxidase; photolabeling experiments with the enzyme from bovine heart and other eukaryotic sources show that ATP cross-links specifically to the cytoplasmic subunits IV and VIII. Taken together, these data indicate that ATP can, at physiological concentration, bind to cytochrome c oxidase and induce an allosteric conformational change, thus affecting the interaction of the enzyme with cytochrome c. These findings raise the possibility that the oxidase activity may be influenced by the cell environment via cytoplasmic subunit-mediated interactions.