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Fittzi Fittzi
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11 years ago
Some drugs will cause the inner mitochondrial membrane to become "leaky" to protons (H+). Explain how this affects ATP production.

I think the answer is that the leaking will stop the formation of a proton gradient, thus preventing ATP production. Is this correct??? Please help! Thanks!!!
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wrote...
11 years ago
Yes.

Uncoupling agents -
 
These make the inner membrane permeable to protons. The proton gradient leaks away bypassing the ATP synthase (electron tramsport has been uncoupled from ATP synthesis). The energy released is wasted as heat instead of being stored as ATP.
wrote...
11 years ago
That is correct.

Remember how ATP is formed...

The electron transport chain causes protons to be "pumped" out of the matrix and into the intermembrane space.

Normally, this causes a PROTON GRADIENT.

To reenter the matrix and restore equilibrium, the protons must pass through ATP Synthase. The energy created upon reentry is used to synthesize ATP from ADP and Pi.

But... what if the membrane has a "leak?"

Then it's simple - the proton gradient can not be generated because the protons are able to maintain equilibrium by passing freely through the leaky membrane.

This means that they are not utilizing ATP Synthase for reentry, therefore ATP can not be synthesized.
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