A two-state stabilization-change mechanism for proton-pumping complex I

Despite its central function in oxidative phosphorylation, the molecular mechanism of proton pumping respiratory complex I is still elusive. In recent years, considerable progress has been made towards understanding structure/function relationships in this very large and complicated membrane protein complex. Last year X-ray crystallographic analysis of bacterial and mitochondrial complex I provided important insights into its molecular architecture. Based on this evidence, here a hypothetical molecular mechanism for redox-driven proton pumping of complex I is proposed. According to this mechanism, two pump modules are driven by two conformational strokes that are generated by stabilization of the anionic forms of semiquinone and ubiquinol that are formed in the peripheral arm of complex I during turnover. This results in the experimentally determined pumping stoichiometry of 4 H+/2e−. In the two-state model, electron transfer from iron–sulfur cluster N2 is allowed only in the ‘E-state,’ while protonation of the substrate is only possible in the stabilizing ‘P-state.’ In the membrane arm, transition from the E- to the P-state drives the two pump modules via long range conformational energy transfer through the recently discovered helical transmission element connecting them. The proposed two-state stabilization-change mechanism is fully reversible and thus inherently explains the operation of complex I in forward and reverse mode. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Allosteric cooperativity in respiratory proteins.

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► A conformational two-state mechanism for proton pumping complex I is proposed.
► The mechanism relies on stabilization changes of anionic ubiquinone intermediates.
► Electron-transfer and protonation should be strictly controlled during turnover.
► The mechanism explains the full reversibility of complex I.