What regulates respiration in mitochondria?

A (nearly) linear dependence of the respiration rate on a given parameter value was proposed as the criterion for considering this parameter to be an efficient regulator of respiration in mitochondria. A number of possible candidates was tested using the dynamic model of oxidative phosphorylation developed previously, among others ADP, the ATP/ADP ratio, external phosphorylation potential and Atkinson's adenylate energy charge. Only the external phosphorylation potential log(ATP/ADP*P(i)) was found to fulfil the above-mentioned criterion and thus it was proposed to be the parameter which 'actually' regulates oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria.