title: Uncoupling proteins outside the animal and plant kingdoms: functional and evolutionary aspects.
abstract: The appearance of intracellular oxidative phosphorylation at the time of acquisition of mitochondria in Eukarya was very soon accompanied by the emergence of uncoupling protein, a carrier specialized in free fatty acid-mediated H(+) recycling that can modulate the tightness of coupling between mitochondrial respiration and ATP synthesis, thereby maintaining a balance between energy supply and demand in the cell and defending cells against damaging reactive oxygen species production when electron carriers of the respiratory chain become over-reduced. The simultaneous occurrence of redox free energy-dissipating oxidase, which has the same final effect, could be related to the functional interactions between both dissipative systems.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bioenergetics, Institue of Chemistry, University of Liège, Belgium. f.sluse@ulg.ac.be
authors.forename: Francis E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Sluse
authors.forename: Wieslawa
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jarmuszkiewicz
mesh_terms: D000048:Acanthamoeba / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002175:Candida / Q000378:metabolism*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004023:Dictyostelium / Q000378:metabolism*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D007473:Ion Channels; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D000071256:Uncoupling Protein 1
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D000071256:Uncoupling Protein 1; D010088:Oxidoreductases