Referenced in: none

Automatically associated channels: Kir6.2 , Kv10.1

Title: Superoxide activates a GDP-sensitive proton conductance in skeletal muscle mitochondria from king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus).

Authors: Darren A Talbot, Nicolas Hanuise, Benjamin Rey, Jean-Louis Rouanet, Claude Duchamp, Martin D Brand

Journal, date & volume: Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 2003 Dec 26 , 312, 983-8

PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14651968

Abstract
We present the partial nucleotide sequence of the avian uncoupling protein (avUCP) gene from king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), showing that the protein is 88-92% identical to chicken (Gallus gallus), turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), and hummingbird (Eupetomena macroura). We show that superoxide activates the proton conductance of mitochondria isolated from king penguin skeletal muscle. GDP abolishes the superoxide-activated proton conductance, indicating that it is mediated via avUCP. In the absence of superoxide there is no GDP-sensitive component of the proton conductance from penguin muscle mitochondria demonstrating that avUCP plays no role in the basal proton leak.