title: The proton permeability of liposomes made from mitochondrial inner membrane phospholipids: no effect of fatty acid composition.
abstract: The proton permeability of the mitochondrial inner membrane has been shown to correlate with the fatty acid composition of its phospholipids. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that the proton permeability of the phospholipid bilayer portion of the membrane depends on phospholipid fatty acid composition. We measured the proton permeability of liposomes made from the mitochondrial inner membrane phospholipids of eight vertebrates, representing a ten-fold range of mitochondrial proton leak and a three fold range of unsaturation index. At a membrane potential (delta psi) of 160 mV at 37 degrees C, the liposomes all had the same proton leak rate, about 30 nmol protons min-1 mg-1 phospholipid. There was no correlation between liposome proton permeability and phospholipid fatty acid composition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Brookes
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Hulbert
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Brand
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007425:Intracellular Membranes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008081:Liposomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000378:metabolism*; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D008930:Mitochondria, Liver / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D010539:Permeability; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism*; D011522:Protons; D013045:Species Specificity; D014714:Vertebrates
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D008081:Liposomes; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D010743:Phospholipids; D011522:Protons