title: The power of life--cytochrome c oxidase takes center stage in metabolic control, cell signalling and survival.
abstract: Mitochondrial dysfunction is increasingly recognized as a major factor in the etiology and progression of numerous human diseases, such as (neuro-)degeneration, ischemia reperfusion injury, cancer, and diabetes. Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) represents the rate-limiting enzyme of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and is thus predestined for being a central site of regulation of oxidative phosphorylation, proton pumping efficiency, ATP and reactive oxygen species production, which in turn affect cell signaling and survival. A unique feature of COX is its regulation by various factors and mechanisms interacting with the nucleus-encoded subunits, whose actual functions we are only beginning to understand.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Neuroanatomy, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Wendlingweg 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany. sarnold@ukaachen.de
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arnold
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019069:Cell Respiration; D002470:Cell Survival; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV