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1. Type-I NADH dehydrogenase (Complex I) was solubilized and dissociated into subunits by NaClO4. NADH slows the dissociation. On subsequent stepwise addition of (NH4)2SO4 the dissociation is partly reversed, as is to be expected from the opposing effects of ClO-4 and SO-24, which are on the salting-in and salting-out sides, respectively, of the lyotropic series. 2. In consequence, the aggregates of subunits that are separated by (NH4)2-SO4 fractionation consist of randomly associated subunits as well as fragments of Type I enzyme. The fraction precipitating at 27% satd. (NH4)2SO4 is flavin-poor, that remaining soluble at 55% satd. (NH4)2SO4 flavin-rich and those separating between 27 and 55% satd. (NH4)2SO4 intermediate in composition. 3. The fraction remaining soluble at 55% satd. (NH4)2SO4 contains the purified low-molecular-weight iron-sulphur flavoprotein (Type-II dehydrogenase). It is a dimer consisting of one molecule of FMN, one 28-kilodalton and one 56-kilodalton subunit per protomer. Work of others indicates that it contains 4 Fe and 4 acid-labile S atoms per molecule of FMN. Sometimes the fraction remaining soluble at 55% satd. (NH4)2SO4 contained an additional small subunit (12 kilodaltons) and four additional Fe and acid labile S atoms per protomer. The sedimentation coefficients (s020,w) of the two preparations were 5.3 and 6.6 S, respectively, with calculated frictional ratios of 1.5 and 1.24, respectively. 4. The intermediate fractions are mixtures of the various subunits present in Complex I. Specifically a fraction separating at 55% satd. (NH4)2SO4 was found to be a mixture of two fragments, the pure iron-sulphur flavoprotein and a 26-S fragment that contained per protomer four subunits of 12 kilodaltons, one each of 28, 32, 56 and 77 kilodaltons, one molecule of FMN and 20 Fe and acid-labile S atoms. It was probably tetrameric or even larger. 5. The oxidoreductase activity of the intermediate fractions is dependent on the protein concentration, the activity with ferricyanide increasing and that with ferricytochrome c decreasing with increasing protein concentration. This is interpreted as an increased association of subunits present in the intermediate fractions. Similar results are obtained when flavin-rich and flavin-poor fractions are mixed. The association is cooperative. NADH favours the association of the subunits. 6. Association of the subunits is accompanied by a 10-fold increase in k2 (rate constant for intramolecular electron flow), a 10-fold decrease of the accessibility of ferricyanide to the reduced enzyme and a 10(4)-fold decrease of the accessibility of ferricytochrome c. The Ks (NADH) is also decreased. Although the changes are in the direction to be expected from a conversion of Type II enzyme to Type I, the value of k2 is still much less than in the latter enzyme.

(1) The EPR spectrum of Center 1 of NADH dehydrogenase in isolated Complex I or submitochondrial particles from beef heart consists of two overlapping nearly axial signals of the same intensity. They are defined as Center 1a (gll = 0.021, gl = 1.938) and Center 1b (gll = 2.021, gl = 1.928). (2) The line shape of the EPR spectrum of the Center 3+4 can be interpreted as an overlap of two rhombic signals of the same intensity. We define Center 3 by the g-values: gz=2.103, gy = 1.93-1.94, gx=1.884, and Center 4 by the values gz=2.04, gy=1.92-1.93, gx=1.863. (3) Direct quantitation of the individuals signals as well as computer stimulation suggests that the amount of the Centers 1a and 1b is only 25% of that of the other individuals centers and FMN. As EPR spectra of beef-heart submitochondrial particles at 10-20 K are nearly identical to those of Complex I, the same relative concentrations of the Fe-S centers are also present in the particles. (4) The signals either observed by us in EPR spectra of Complex I and submitochondrial particles at 4.2 K and high microwave powers can now be explained without assuming more than 5 paramagnetic centers in NADH dehydrogenase.

(1) Studies of the steady-state kinetics of the NADH dehydrogenase activity of Complex I (NADH: Q oxidoreductase) revealed that the reaction mechanism with the one-electron acceptor ferricyanide or the two-electron acceptor 2,6-dichloro-indophenol is ping pong bi bi, with double substrate inhibition. NADH inhibits the reaction of the reduced form of the flavoprotein with the acceptors, and the acceptors prevent NADH from reacting with the oxidized form. This implies that both NADH and acceptors react with the same site on NADH dehydrogenase. (2) The velocity at infinite NADH and acceptor concentrations (corrected for the double substrate inhibition) is much larger with ferricyanide than with the indophenol. It is concluded that the latter binds to the reduced enzyme. Thus, with ferricyanide the rate constant measured refers to the dissociation of bound NAD+ from the reduced enzyme (k2) and with the indophenol to the rate constant of oxidation of reduced enzyme by bound acceptor (k4). The latter value is not an estimate for the situation in vivo, where ubiquinone is the acceptor. (3) The rate constant of the dissociation of bound NAD+ from the reduced enzyme (k2) increases with pH. It is suggested that an ionizing group on the enzyme is involved in the dissociation. (4) After extraction of ubiquinone from Complex I with pentane curve relating activity at infinite ferricyanide concentration to NADH concentration changes from hyperbolic to sigmoidal. The hyperbolic curve is restored by reincorporating ubiquinone. It is concluded that ubiquinone is an effector for NADH dehydrogenase.

(1) The steady-state kinetics of the NADH dehydrogenase activity of Type-II (low molecular weight) NADH dehydrogenase with the acceptors ferricyanide, cytochrome c and 2,6-dichloroindophenol are consistent with the simultaneous operation of an ordered and a ping-pong mechanism. Thus, depending on the acceptor concentration, the reduced enzyme is preferentially oxidized before or after NAD+ disociates from it. (2) The acceptors are able to oxidize the reduced enzyme and its NAD+ complex equally well. In contrast to the kinetics of the Type-I (high molecular weight) enzyme, double substrate inhibition is not found, implying that the site of oxidation of the reduced enzyme by acceptors and the NADH-binding site are remote. (3) With the indophenol, in the concentration range measured, the ordered mechanism is mainly operative. At infinite NADH and acceptor concentrations the rate constant of the reduction of enzyme by bound NADH is measured. (4) With ferricyanide and cytochrome c, in the concentration range measured, erroneous conclusions may be drawn from extrapolations owing to the fact that extrapolated lines in double-reciprocal plots of turnover number against acceptor concentration, at different NADH concentrations, intersect in the third quadrant. A method is described that allows the extrapolation of these data to zero acceptor concentrations. (5) The relation between activity and NADH concentration is sigmoidal (h = 2.0) with ferricyanide or cytochrome c as acceptor, but hyperbolic with 2,6-dichloroindophenol. The latter is also an inhibitor, competitive with respect to NADH. It is concluded that this two-electron acceptor, like ubiquinone, acts as an allosteric effector. (6) Type II is isolated from Type I without gross changes in tertiary structure, as judged by the unaltered rate constants of dissociation of NADH (k-1) and NAD+ (k4) and association of NADH (k1). (7) Type II differs from Type I in two respects, (a) The accessibility of the acceptors is greater by at least two orders of magnitude (k3). (b) The redox potential of the prosthetic group FMN is 120 mV less, as judged by a drop in the value of k2 by four orders of magnitude. It is suggested that one or more of the iron-sulphur proteins present in Type-I but lacking in Type-II dehydrogenase functions as an effector, regulating the redox potential of the FMN.