Factors affecting the reactivation of the oligomycin-sensitive adenosine 5'-triphosphatase and the release of ATPase inhibitor protein during the re-energization of intact mitochondria from ischemic cardiac muscle.

In the present study we examined factors affecting the reversal of the ischemia-induced protonic inhibition of the mitochondrial ATPase described earlier (Rouslin, W. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 9657-9661). It was found that ATPase reactivation and accompanying inhibitor protein release during the re-energization of intact mitochondria isolated from 20-min ischemic canine heart muscle could be blocked completely by either carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone (FCCP) or nigericin but was unaffected by valinomycin at 35 mM K+. At higher K+ concentrations, valinomycin also blocked ATPase reactivation but not quite as completely as did nigericin. These observations suggest that ATPase reactivation and inhibitor protein release are particularly dependent upon either the trans-inner membrane pH gradient (delta pH) or possibly upon matrix pH per se and slightly less dependent upon membrane potential (delta psi) in intact cardiac muscle mitochondria. The addition of FCCP at the end of the re-energization incubations limited partially the extent of both ATPase reactivation and inhibitor protein release. This latter effect appears to have been mediated by a partial reassociation of the inhibitor protein with the enzyme, and it was accentuated (when FCCP was added at the end of the incubations) or mimicked (when FCCP was absent) by lowering the pH of the re-energization medium. A close examination of the first 10 min of the time course of enzyme activation and of inhibitor protein release revealed that while the former process was essentially finished in 1 min or less, the latter required approximately 10 min for completion. This observation led to the proposal of a two-site model of enzyme-inhibitor interaction which is discussed.