Mechanisms of Energy Transduction in Mitochondria

Abstract

Mitochondria play a key role in providing energy for cellular functions, and on the other hand, they are a target, decoder and switch of intracellular signals, generator of secondary messengers and pro-apoptotic factors. Modern ideas about the mechanisms of energy transduction in the mitochondrial membrane were formed after Peter Mitchell created the chemiosmotic theory of ATP synthesis. The data presented in the article can serve as a fundamental basis for further study of the brain in normal and pathological conditions with further extrapolation of the obtained data to humans. Mitochondria play a key role in providing energy for cellular functions, and on the other hand, they are a target, decoder and switch of intracellular signals, generator of secondary messengers and pro-apoptotic factors [1]. Modern ideas about the mechanisms of energy transduction in the mitochondrial membrane were formed after Peter Mitchell created the chemiosmotic theory of ATP synthesis. The energy resources used by the inner mitochondrial membrane are initially directed at the transport of the conjugating proton through the membrane to an area with a higher concentration (energization of the membrane), then the proton gradient is used by the mitochondria as a driving force capable of leading to the synthesis of ATP. Isolation of mitochondrial proteins by D.E. Green and co-workers led to the formation of the idea of “complexes” of the respiratory chain [2].