Studies of energy-linked reactions. Inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation by DL-8-methyldihydrolipoate.

1. DL-8-Methyldihydrolipoate was shown to be a potent inhibitor of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and ATP-driven energy-linked reactions. 2. ADP-stimulated respiration utilizing pyruvate + malate and succinate in both ox heart and rat liver mitochondria is inhibited; oxidative phosphorylation using pyruvate + malate, succinate and ascorbate + NNN'N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine as substrates is also inhibited; uncoupler-stimulated respiration is unaffected regardless of the substrate used. 3. Mitochondrial oligomycin-sensitive adenosine triphosphatase is inhibited in both the membrane-bound form and the purified detergent-dispersed preparation. 4. ATP-driven transhydrogenase and the ATP-driven energy-linked reduction of NAD+ by succinate in ox heart submitochondrial particles are inhibited, whereas the respiratory-chain-driven transhydrogenase is unaffected. 5. DL-8-Methyl-lipoate has no immediate effect on the above reactions, demonstrating the requirement for the reduced form for inhibition. 6. The inhibitory properties of DL-8-methyldihydrolipoate are analogous to those of oligomycin and provide further evidence of a role for lipoic acid in oxidative phosphorylation.