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The role of Coenzyme Q in mitochondrial electron transport

2007; Elsevier BV; Volume: 7; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.mito.2007.03.009

1872-8278

Giorgio Lenaz, Romana Fato, Gabriella Formiggini, Maria Luisa Genova,

Advanced battery technologies research

In mitochondria, most Coenzyme Q is free in the lipid bilayer; the question as to whether tightly bound, non-exchangeable Coenzyme Q molecules exist in mitochondrial complexes is still an open question. We review the mechanism of inter-complex electron transfer mediated by ubiquinone and discuss the kinetic consequences of the supramolecular organization of the respiratory complexes (randomly dispersed vs. super-complexes) in terms of Coenzyme Q pool behavior vs. metabolic channeling, respectively, both in physiological and in some pathological conditions. As an example of intra-complex electron transfer, we discuss in particular Complex I, a topic that is still under active investigation.