The proton pumping pathway of bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase

X-ray structures of bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase have suggested that the enzyme, which reduces O₂ in a process coupled with a proton pumping process, contains a proton pumping pathway (H-pathway) composed of a hydrogen bond network and a water channel located in tandem across the enzyme. The hydrogen bond network includes the peptide bond between Tyr-440 and Ser-441, which could facilitate unidirectional proton transfer. Replacement of a possible proton-ejecting aspartate (Asp-51) at one end of the H-pathway with asparagine, using a stable bovine gene expression system, abolishes the proton pumping activity without influencing the O₂ reduction function. Blockage of either the water channel by a double mutation (Val386Leu and Met390Trp) or proton transfer through the peptide by a Ser441Pro mutation was found to abolish the proton pumping activity without impairment of the O ₂ reduction activity. These results significantly strengthen the proposal that H-pathway is involved in proton pumping.