Steady-state kinetics of electron transfer through cytochrome chain of uncoupled submitochondrial particles. I. General kinetic analysis.

Steady-state kinetics of electron transfer through the cytochrome chain of uncoupled ultrasonic submitochondrial particles at different pH values has been studied. Rate constants calculated from the Pring equation (ki' = V/PirPi+1ox) increased with the increase of the rate of the process. As in the previous work (Saks, V. A., Kupriyanov, V. V. and Luzikov, V. N. (1972) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 283, 42-53) this dependence was linear, but only at comparatively low rates of electron transfer. To explain the experimental data several kinetic models, based on the assumption that respiratory chains are activated when functioning, have been proposed and analysed. The best agreement with the experimental data was obtained for the model suggesting that the rate of activation of the carriers is directly proportional to the overall rate of electron transfer and to the proportion of non-activated respiratory chains in the system. Hence it appeared that electron transfer through already activated chains entailed activation of adjacent non-activated chains. This model allowed rate constants for non-activated (ki) and activated (ki) states of the carriers, as well as the life-time of the activated carriers (tau) to be determined.