Oxidative phosphorylation in rat liver mitochondria: influence of physical parameters.

Effects of pH, temperature, ionic strength and osmotic pressure on various respiratory states and indices of oxidative phosphorylation in well coupled rat liver mitochondria have been studied. It appears that temperature and osmotic pressure are the most important physical variables, whereas ionic strength and pH were devoid of any significant influence on oxidative phosphorylation. Thus any model for oxidative phosphorylation must critically account for the differential osmotic sensitivity of respiration as well as the curious fact that ADP/O ratio increases as temperature decreases.