A quantitative characterisation of H+ translocation by cytochrome c oxidase vesicles

A quantitative analysis of H+ extrusion by reconstituted cytochrome c oxidase vesicles is presented with particular regard to the decay kinetics of the extruded proton pulse and to the structural heterogeneity of the vesicle preparation. The decay of the extruded H+ pulse under conditions typical of those used for its measurement is much slower than expected from the passive proton permeability of the vesicle membranes. It is shown that this apparent anomaly results from insufficient transmembrane charge equilibration via valinomycin and K+ during oxidase turnover. This situation can be remedied by increasing the valinomycin concentration or by replacing this counterion system with 1 mM tetraphenylphosphonium. Under these latter conditions, the decay kinetics can be described as the sum of two exponential terms. To facilitate interpretation of the proton pump decay kinetics, a structural analysis of the oxidase vesicle preparation is presented. The bulk of the reconstituted vesicles (i.e., those representing approx. 80% of the total oxidase and lipid) are 30-62 nm in diameter. At least 70% of the reconstituted oxidase molecules are contained individually in separate vesicles, indicating that the enzyme monomer is competent in H+ translocation.