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Electrical homeostasis of the inner mitochondrial membrane potential
Peyman Fahimi1,2,3, Lázaro A M Castanedo1,4, P Thomas Vernier5
1Department of Chemistry and Physics, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3M2J6, Canada.
None:
The electric potential across the inner mitochondrial membrane must be maintained within certain bounds for the proper functioning of the cell. A feedback control mechanism for the homeostasis of this membrane potential is proposed whereby an increase in the electric field decreases the rate-limiting steps of the electron transport chain (ETC). An increase in trans-membrane electric field limits the rate of proton pumping to the inter-membrane gap by slowing the ETC reactions and by intrinsically induced electroporation that depolarizes the inner membrane. The proposed feedback mechanism is akin to a Le Chatelier's-type principle of trans-membrane potential feedback control.
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