The differential effects of superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical on cardiac mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation.

The involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injuries is well-established, but the deleterious effects of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), hydroxyl radical (HO*) or superoxide anion (O(2)*(-) ) on mitochondrial function are poorly understood. Here, we report that incubation of rat heart mitochondria with each of these three species resulted in a decline of the ADP-stimulated respiratory rate but not substrate-dependent respiration. These three species reduced oxygen consumption induced by an uncoupler without alteration of the respiratory chain complexes, but did not modify mitochondrial membrane permeability. HO* slightly decreased F1F0-ATPase activity and HO* and O(2)*(-) partially inhibited the activity of adenine nucleotide translocase; H(2)O(2) failed to alter these targets. They inhibited NADH production by acting specifically on aconitase for O(2)*(-) and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase for H(2)O(2) and HO*. Our results show that O(2)*(-), H(2)O(2) and HO* act on different mitochondrial targets to alter ATP synthesis, mostly through inhibition of NADH production.