Interaction of beef-heart mitochondrial F1-ATPase with immobilized ATP in the presence of dimethylsulfoxide.

Dimethylsulfoxide [Me2SO, 30% (v/v)] promotes the formation of ATP from ADP and phosphate catalyzed by soluble mitochondrial F1-ATPase. The effects of this solvent on the interaction of beef-heart mitochondrial F1 with the immobilized ATP of Agarose-hexane-ATP were studied. In the presence of Me2SO, F1 bound less readily to the immobilized ATP, but once bound was more difficult to elute with exogenous ATP. This suggests that not only was the binding affinity for adenine nucleotide at the first binding site affected but that adenine nucleotide binding affinity at the second and/or third sites, which interact cooperatively with the first site to release bound nucleotide, was also affected. A reduction in the binding of [3H]ADP to these sites was shown. A change in the conformation of F1 in 30% (v/v) Me2SO was demonstrated by crosslinking and by the increased resistance of the enzyme to cold denaturation.