The Infrastructure of Mitochondrial Matrix Proteins

已经证明，Krebs三羧酸循环的连续酶之间存在相互作用，并且这些酶还与线粒体膜内的蛋白质结合。然而，仍然有几个Krebs三元酸循环相互作用没有得到证实，还有几个需要更好地表征。这些超分子复合体可能不仅对线粒体有代谢作用，而且对线粒体也有结构作用。关于线粒体结构的一个悬而未决的问题是冠状突起形成的分子基础，它在同一线粒体内表现出很大的变异性。该项目将：1)分离和鉴定内膜结合蛋白；2)研究冠状突起形成的分子基础。细胞不仅仅是装满酶的“袋子”。组织细胞的元素，以及细胞本身，允许有效和经济地使用生命的组成部分。在分子水平上，代谢序列的酶的有序排列允许以每种中间体的较低浓度获得较高的通量。第二个好处是，这种组织不会对电池有限的溶剂能力征税。似乎存在一些进化压力，因为一些代谢途径在生物体中作为单独的酶存在，被认为代表了早期的进化条件，并在细胞中作为多功能酶存在，据信是在进化的后期出现的。该项目将提供关于多酶复合体在细胞膜形成中的作用的信息。

It has been shown that interactions exist between sequential enzymes of the Krebs tricarboxylic acid cycle and that these enzymes also bind to proteins in the inner mitochondrial membrane. There still remain, however, several Krebs tricarboxylic acid cycle interactions that are not demonstrated and several which need to be better characterized. It is possible that these supramolecular complexes have not only a metabolic role but also a structural role in the mitochondria. An unresolved problem concerning mitochondrial structure is the molecular basis for the form of cristae, which show great variability within the same mitochondrion. This project will: 1) isolate and characterize the binding proteins for the inner membrane; and 2) investigate the molecular basis of cristae form. Cells are not simply "bags" of enzymes. Organization of the elements of cells, as well as cells themselves, allows efficient and economical use of the components of life. At the molecular level, an organized array of the enzymes of a metabolic sequence allows the attainment of higher fluxes with lower concentrations of each of the intermediates. A second benefit is that such organization does not tax the limited solvent capacity of cells. There seems to have been some evolutionary pressure for organization since some metabolic pathways exist as separate enzymes in organisms believed to represent early evolutionary conditions and exist as multifunctional enzymes in cells which are believed to have arisen later in evolution. This project will provide information in the role of multi-enzyme complexes in the formation of cell membranes.***//