Structural changes in mitochondrial F1-ATPase induced by the removal of loosely bound nucleotides

Mitochondrial F1-ATPase from beef heart, forms aggregates when it is depleted of loosely bound nucleotides by repeated precipitation in ammonium sulfate. Polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis, in non dissociating conditions shows that the aggregate formed is a dimer (708,000 daltons). The aggregation is attributed to a conformational change of the protein as a consequence of the elimination of the nucleotides from the low affinity binding sites. This structural alteration seems to be reversible because, after addition of ATP, the aggregation is not observed on polyacrylamide gels but the catalytic properties remain unchanged. This conformational change alters the accessibility of protein sulfhydryl groups to 5,5' - dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid). All these observations emphasize the importance of protein nucleotide interactions to the conformation of the mitochondrial F1-ATPase.