Effects of organic solvents and orthophosphate on the ATPase activity of F1 ATPase.

The ATPase activity of soluble F1 ATPase of mitochondria is activated by Pi. The concentration of Pi required for half-maximal activation decreases from a value higher than 50 mM to about 1 mM Pi when one of the organic solvents dimethyl sulfoxide (15 to 30%), methanol (7.5 to 15%) or ethylene glycol (10 to 30%) is added to the assay medium. This effect is observed in the presence of MgCl2 but not in the presence of CaCl2.