Inhibition of erythrocyte plasma membrane NADH dehydrogenase by nucleotides and uncouplers.

Erythrocyte ghost NADH dehydrogenase is inhibited in a competitive fashion by ATP and ADP whereas other nucleoside di- and triphosphates, cyclic nucleosides, as well as non-phosphorylating ATP analogs are relatively ineffective. In addition, this enzyme, measured with ferricyanide as electron acceptor, is inhibited by uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation (proton-conducting reagents), the inhibition being competitive in character (i.e., the uncouplers were without influence upon maximum velocity). The effectiveness of the uncouplers was in the order of their hydrophobic character with the presence of the alkyl side chain rendering nonyl-dinitrophenol much more active than 2,6-dinitrophenol itself. Hydrophobic compounds that are not protonophores (e.g., eosin, proflavin or valinomycin) were not inhibitory. Whereas adenine nucleotides probably inhibit NADH oxidation competitively through structural similarity with the substrate, it appears unlikely that uncouplers compete at the NADH site directly. Rather, the apparently-competitive inhibition in the latter case may reflect competition for proton transfer to an acceptor residing in a hydrophobic region of the enzyme complex.