Complex III of Electron Transport Chain

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UNDER CONSTRUCTION
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IntroductionIntroduction

PDB ID 1kyo

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1kyo, resolution 2.97Å ()
Ligands: , ,
Non-Standard Residues:
Activity: Ubiquinol--cytochrome-c reductase, with EC number 1.10.2.2
Related: 1ezv, 1kb9
Resources: FirstGlance, OCA, PDBsum, RCSB
Coordinates: save as pdb, mmCIF, xml


Complex III of the electron transport chain has a dimeric structure with each monomer containing as many as 11 subunits, but the structure shown to the right has 9. [1] reveals this dimeric structure. Notice that one of the peptides of each subunit invades the space of the other monomeric unit. Labels show the orientation of the complex within the inner mitochondrial membrane. of each monomeric unit have a direct role in the passage of electrons in the respiratory chain. The subunits that are colored green, blue and red are active in the electron transport chain. The grey peptides are not assigned a function in the mechanism of Complex III action, but they do have other catalytic activities and functions. The two subunits of cytochrome b (colored green) for the most part are buried in the complex and have minimal exposure to the intermembrane space and matrix. Cytochrome c1 subunits are positioned on top of cytochrome b and their outer surfaces are exposed to the intermembrane space. They are held in place by helical tails that extend deep into the complex and membrane. The Rieske subunits are Fe/S proteins with three domains: membrane domain (long helical segment that extends into the membrane), head domain which contains the Fe/S center and hinge domain (short segment between the other two).

Structure of three active componentsStructure of three active components

Each cytochrome b contains (displayed as spacefill and colored cpk). Identify each of the hemes by toggling off the spin and hovering the curser over an atom of the heme. Hem 501 and Hem 502 are in one cytochrome b, and Hem 521 and Hem 522 are in the other one. The two hemes in each cytochrome b are in different environments and therefore have different properties, e.g. reduction potential. Hemes 501 & 521 have a lower potential than the other two and are called bL for low potential, and the other two are called bH for high potential. Each of the cytochrome b's have two binding sites for substrate. Ubiquinol and the inhibitor stigmatellin bind at one of these sites, QP, (Stigmatellin is shown in the applet below.[2]), and the site is adjacent to the bL heme (). The other site, QN, binds ubiquinone, and this site is outlined by which is located adjacent to the bH heme. In this view you are looking into the lit pocket in which the ubiquinone binds. You can rotate the structure and observe the ubiquinone binding pocket in the other subunit.


1KYO modified

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Each cytochrome c1 contains . Viewing as it would be seen from the intermembrane space, there is an opening in the center of the dimeric c1 through which one can see the gray hemes of the cyto b's. Also seen in this view is the gray heme embedded in each of the cyto c1's showing that the heme is located in a crevice which is open to the intermembrane space and on the (heme oxygens are seen). These openings of the crevice permits the cyto c1 heme to make contact with the Rieske protein and with cytochrome c when it binds to the . There are which attrack the complementary positive charges on cytochrome c, a basic protein. (colored cyan) bound to one cyto c1 as viewed from intermembrane space and from slice through membrane of the two cytochromes are in close contact. The seen through transparent spacefill.

is in the head of each Rieske protein. Each of the Fe/S centers is complexed with . As a result of bending at the (colored cyan) the head can be in one of three possible positions. Here the Fe/S head is in the in which a His of the Fe/S/His complex is in contact with the ubiquinol (actually stigmatellin in this model) bound at the QP site of cyto b. Wider view of . Notice that the His of the Risieke head is in contact with stigmatellin in the QP site and the stigmatellin is positioned on a straight line between the two hemes in the cyto c1 subunits. The is shown here with a PDB file[3] that does not have stigmatellin bound at QP, so the surface of the binding sites is shown in orange and the black arrow is pointing to the QP pocket. This pocket is on a straight line between the hemes of cyto c1, as in the view showing the cyto b position, but the Fe/S center is removed from the QP binding pocket and is in a position intermediate between the cyto b and cyto c1 positions. In the , the third position, the second His of the Fe/S is in contact with the cyto c1 heme through a hydrogen bond to a carboxylate oxygen of the heme. Black arrow indicates the direction of movement from Int position to the Cyto c1 position, and the orange arrow indicates the direction of movement from the Int position to the Cyto b position.

Q CycleQ Cycle

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At the start of the cycle the QP site is empty and the Fe/S center of the Rieske protein is in the Int position. () With the binding of , UQH2, to cytochrome b (black arrow) the Rieske protein flexes at the hinge region rotating the Fe/S head so that the His which is bound to the Fe/S also at QP (stigmatellin in this model). Binding of the His to UQH2 reduces its pK, and the UQH2 loses a proton to become UQH -. The position of QP in the complex is such that the proton which is lost . After UQH2 loses the proton and becomes UQH -, it passes an electron through the His to the Fe+3 reducing it to Fe+2. With the loss of the electron the UQH - becomes UQH, a semiquinone, which loses a proton and becomes UQ • -, the conjugate base of the semiquinone. The proton diffuses to the intermembrane space, as the first one did. (The fate of the semiquinone can be traced starting with the next paragraph.) After Fe in the Fe/S center is reduced by the UQH -, the Rieske head rotates & the Fe/S moves to cytochrome c1, , so that the second His bound to Fe/S binds to the heme of cytochrome c1. When the His contacts the heme of cytochrome c1 an electron is rapidly passed from the Fe/S through the His to the Fe of the cytochrome c1 heme, and since it is now in the oxidized form, the Rieske protein returns to the "Int" position. The cytochrome c1 heme is now reduced, and when to it the electron is passed from the c1 heme to the c heme (black arrow). The cytochrome c then releases from the membrane and diffuses through the intermembrane space to Complex IV.

The UQ • -, the of the semiquinone, which was formed at Qp as described above and is shown here as stigmatellin is oxidized to the full UQ when it to heme bL. The is then passed from the Fe of heme bL to the Fe of Heme bH, and with Heme bH being next to UQ bound at the Qn site (Binding site is shown as a .), the is passed to UQ. With only one electron being passed in this series of reaction the UQ is reduced to UQ • -, and becomes UQH when it accepts a which comes from the matrix. The end products of the first half of the Q cycle are an ubiquinol oxidized to ubiquinone at the Qp site, a reduced cyt c and an ubiquinone reduced to semi-ubiquinone at the Qn site.

The second half of the Q cycle is different form the first half in that at the Qn site at the end of the cycle a semi-ubiquinone is reduced to ubiquinol so that during a complete cycle at the Qn site an ubiquinone is reduced to ubiquinol.

SUMMARY:
2 ubiquinols oxidized at the Qp
2 cytochrome c's reduced
1 ubiquinone reduced to ubiquinol
4 hydrogen ions moved from matrix to intermenbrane space

View Interior of Q Binding SitesView Interior of Q Binding Sites

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FootnotesFootnotes

  1. 1KYO.pdb - C.LANGE,C.HUNTE, PROC.NATL.ACAD.SCI.USA, 99, 2800, 2002 - is being used to generate the images in the first applet. The 'default scene' green link available in the first Jmol applet shows the dimer structure along with Heavy Chain (Vh) of Fv-Fragment, Light Chain (Vl) of Fv-Fragment and Cytochrome C, Iso-1 all of which are a part of 1KYO.PDB. Follow the link to OCA in the green table below the applet for additional information on the complete complex and the peptide components.
  2. The structure shown in the second applet was produced by modifying 1KYO.pdb. The Jmol command 'write file' was used to make a PDB file that contained only the 6 active subunits and cytochrome c (chains c,d,e,n,o,p,w) and the cofactors of those peptides.
  3. S.IWATA, J.W.LEE,K.OKADA,J.K.LEE, M.IWATA, B.RASMUSSEN, T.A.LINK, S.RAMASWAMY, B.K.JAP, COMPLETE STRUCTURE OF THE 11-SUBUNIT OVINE MITOCHONDRIAL CYTOCHROME BC1 COMPLEX, SCIENCE, 281, 64, 1998. 1BGY.PDB was modified to contain only the six active subunits (chains c, d, e, o, p, q)and their cofactors.

Proteopedia Page Contributors and Editors (what is this?)Proteopedia Page Contributors and Editors (what is this?)

Karl Oberholser, Eran Hodis, Jaime Prilusky, Alexander Berchansky, Michal Harel