title: A method aimed at assessing the functional consequences of the supramolecular organization of the respiratory electron transfer chain by time-resolved studies.
abstract: A steadily increasing number of physiological, biochemical, and structural studies have provided a growing support to the notion that the respiratory electron transfer chain may contain supra-molecular edifices made of the assembly of some, if not all, of its individual links. This structure, usually referred to as the solid state model-in comparison to the liquid state model in which the electron transfer reactions between the membrane bound enzymes are diffusion controlled-is seen as conferring specific kinetic properties to the chain and thus as being highly relevant from a functional point of view. Although the assumption that structural changes are mirrored by functional adjustment is undoubtedly legitimate, experimental evidences supporting it remain scarce. Here we review a recent methodological development aimed at tackling the functional relevance of the supramolecular organization of the respiratory electron transfer chain in intact cells.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, UMR 7141 CNRS-UPMC, 13 rue P et M Curie, 75005, Paris, France, Fabrice.Rappaport@ibpc.fr.
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rappaport
mesh_terms: D053000:Analytic Sample Preparation Methods; D000818:Animals; D019069:Cell Respiration / Q000528:radiation effects; D003470:Culture Media; D045304:Cytochromes c / Q000378:metabolism; D004579:Electron Transport / Q000528:radiation effects; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000378:metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000528:radiation effects; D007700:Kinetics; D008027:Light; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology; D051379:Mice; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000166:cytology; D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D045304:Cytochromes c; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV