---
_id: '12757'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: My group and myself have studied respiratory complex I for almost 30 years,
starting in 1994 when it was known as a L-shaped giant ‘black box' of bioenergetics.
First breakthrough was the X-ray structure of the peripheral arm, followed by
structures of the membrane arm and finally the entire complex from Thermus thermophilus.
The developments in cryo-EM technology allowed us to solve the first complete
structure of the twice larger, ∼1 MDa mammalian enzyme in 2016. However, the mechanism
coupling, over large distances, the transfer of two electrons to pumping of four
protons across the membrane remained an enigma. Recently we have solved high-resolution
structures of mammalian and bacterial complex I under a range of redox conditions,
including catalytic turnover. This allowed us to propose a robust and universal
mechanism for complex I and related protein families. Redox reactions initially
drive conformational changes around the quinone cavity and a long-distance transfer
of substrate protons. These set up a stage for a series of electrostatically driven
proton transfers along the membrane arm (‘domino effect'), eventually resulting
in proton expulsion from the distal antiporter-like subunit. The mechanism radically
differs from previous suggestions, however, it naturally explains all the unusual
structural features of complex I. In this review I discuss the state of knowledge
on complex I, including the current most controversial issues.
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: review
author:
- first_name: Leonid A
full_name: Sazanov, Leonid A
id: 338D39FE-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Sazanov
orcid: 0000-0002-0977-7989
citation:
ama: 'Sazanov LA. From the “black box” to “domino effect” mechanism: What have we
learned from the structures of respiratory complex I. The Biochemical Journal.
2023;480(5):319-333. doi:10.1042/BCJ20210285'
apa: 'Sazanov, L. A. (2023). From the “black box” to “domino effect” mechanism:
What have we learned from the structures of respiratory complex I. The Biochemical
Journal. Portland Press. https://doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20210285'
chicago: 'Sazanov, Leonid A. “From the ‘black Box’ to ‘Domino Effect’ Mechanism:
What Have We Learned from the Structures of Respiratory Complex I.” The Biochemical
Journal. Portland Press, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20210285.'
ieee: 'L. A. Sazanov, “From the ‘black box’ to ‘domino effect’ mechanism: What have
we learned from the structures of respiratory complex I,” The Biochemical Journal,
vol. 480, no. 5. Portland Press, pp. 319–333, 2023.'
ista: 'Sazanov LA. 2023. From the ‘black box’ to ‘domino effect’ mechanism: What
have we learned from the structures of respiratory complex I. The Biochemical
Journal. 480(5), 319–333.'
mla: 'Sazanov, Leonid A. “From the ‘black Box’ to ‘Domino Effect’ Mechanism: What
Have We Learned from the Structures of Respiratory Complex I.” The Biochemical
Journal, vol. 480, no. 5, Portland Press, 2023, pp. 319–33, doi:10.1042/BCJ20210285.'
short: L.A. Sazanov, The Biochemical Journal 480 (2023) 319–333.
date_created: 2023-03-26T22:01:06Z
date_published: 2023-03-15T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-08-01T13:45:12Z
day: '15'
ddc:
- '570'
department:
- _id: LeSa
doi: 10.1042/BCJ20210285
external_id:
isi:
- '000957065700001'
pmid:
- '36920092'
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 480'
isi: 1
issue: '5'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: https://doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20210285
month: '03'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 319-333
pmid: 1
publication: The Biochemical Journal
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 1470-8728
issn:
- 0264-6021
publication_status: published
publisher: Portland Press
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: 'From the ''black box'' to ''domino effect'' mechanism: What have we learned
from the structures of respiratory complex I'
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 4359f0d1-fa6c-11eb-b949-802e58b17ae8
volume: 480
year: '2023'
...