The structure and subunit composition of the particulate NADH-ubiquinone reductase of bovine heart mitochondria.

Preparations of NADH-ubiquinone reductase from bovine heart mitochondria (Complex I) were shown to contain at least 16 polypeptides by gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate. 2. High-molecular-weight soluble NADH dehydrogenase prepared from Triton X-100 extracts of submitochondrial particles [Baugh & King (1972) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 49, 1165-1173] was similar to Complex I in its polypeptide composition. 3. Solubilization of Complex I by phospholipase A treatment and subsequent sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation did not alter the polypeptide composition. 4. Lysophosphatidylcholine treatment of Complex I caused some selective solubilization of a polypeptide of mol.wt. 33000 previosuly postulated to be the transmembrane component of Complex I in the mitochondrial membrane [Ragan (1975) in Energy Transducing Membranes: Structure, Function and Reconstitution (Bennun, Bacila & Najjar, eds.), Junk, The Hague, in the press]. 5. Chaotropic resolution of Complex I caused solubilization of polypeptides of molecular weights 75000, 53000, 29000, 26000 and 15500 and traces of others in the 10000-20000-mol.wt.range. 6. The major components of the iron-protein fraction from chaotropic resolution had molecular weights of 75000, 53000 and 29000, whereas the flavoprotein contained polypeptides of molecular weights 53000 and 26000 in a 1:1 molar ratio. 7. Iodination of Complex I by lactoperoxidase indicated that the water-soluble polypeptides released by chaotropic resolution, in particular those of the flavoprotein fraction, were largely buried in the intact Complex. 8. The polypeptides of molecular weights 75000, 53000, 42000, 39000, 33000, 29000 and 26000 were present in 1:2:1:1:1:1:1 molar proportions. The two subunits of molecular weight 53000 are probably non-identical.