Structural identification of iron-sulfur clusters of the respiratory chain-linked NADH dehydrogenase

The structural nature of the iron-sulfur clusters of NADH dehydrogenase from beef heart mitochondria has been studied by the cluster extrusion technique. Enzyme samples were unfolded anaerobically in 80% (v/v) hexamethylphosphoramide/aqueous buffer in the presence of o-xylyl-alpha,alpha'-dithiol as the displacing agent and the extruded clusters were then reacted with p-trifluoromethylbenzenethiol and analyzed by Fourier transform 19F NMR at 339 MHz. Whenever extrusion was nearly complete, both binuclear and tetranuclear clusters were found at a mole ratio of approximately 2:1. Thus, the dehydrogenase, with 16 g atoms of non-heme iron present/mol of FMN, contains most likely four [2Fe-2S] and two [4Fe-4S] clusters. Because the enzyme contains four or, at the most five, EPR-detectable iron-sulfur centers, it appears that one or more of the clusters are EPR-silent.