Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1996 Apr 1;315 ( Pt 1)(Pt 1):295-9.
doi: 10.1042/bj3150295.

Rapid reduction of nitric oxide by mitochondria, and reversible inhibition of mitochondrial respiration by nitric oxide

V Borutaité  1 , G C Brown
Affiliations

Rapid reduction of nitric oxide by mitochondria, and reversible inhibition of mitochondrial respiration by nitric oxide

V Borutaité et al. Biochem J. .

Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) inhibited the respiration rate of mitochondria isolated from rat heart at sub-micromolar concentrations of NO. The inhibition was rapidly and completely reversible, indicating that NO does not damage mitochondria. The sensitivity of respiration to NO depended on the oxygen concentration, substrate type and respiratory state of the mitochondria, consistent with NO competing with oxygen at cytochrome oxidase. Mitochondria catalysed a rapid rate of NO breakdown, which was greater in the absence of oxygen and was partly inhibited by cyanide and azide, suggesting that at least part of the NO breakdown was due to reduction of NO by cytochrome oxidase. The rapid rate of this breakdown suggests that mitochondrial breakdown of NO may be significant physiologically.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Annu Rev Biochem. 1994;63:175-95 - PubMed
    1. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1994 Oct 14;204(1):169-75 - PubMed
    1. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1994 Dec 15;205(2):1143-50 - PubMed
    1. FEBS Lett. 1994 Dec 19;356(2-3):295-8 - PubMed
    1. J Clin Invest. 1995 Jan;95(1):360-6 - PubMed

Publication types