Mitochondria porins

The mitochondrion has an outer and an inner membrane (Figure 1). The outer membrane contains pores formed from a protein, porin, which allow exchange of molecules with molecular weights up to about 2,000 between the cytosol and the intermembrane space. The inner membrane is extensively invaginated to increase its surface area. It has a different lipid composition from the outer membrane and is rich in the acidic phospholipid cardiolipin (diphosphatidyl-glycerol) which is only found in animal cells in mitochondria. Cardiolipin confers good electrical insulating properties on the inner membrane which is impermeable... 

Mitochondria and cell death Although oxidative phosphorylation is a mitochondrial process, most ATP utilization occurs outside of the mitochondrion. ATP synthesized from oxidative phosphorylation is actively transported from the matrix to the intermembrane space by adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT). Porins form voltage-dependent anion channels (VDAC) through the outer mitochondrial membrane for the diffusion of H2O, ATP metabolites, and other ions. Under certain types of stress, ANT, VDAC, and other proteins form a nonspecific open channel known as the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. This pore is associated with events that lead rapidly to necrotic cell death. 

The mitochondrion (Fig. 11.1) is an organelle approximately the size of a bacterium. It is notable for having two membranes an outer membrane that contains porin molecules rendering it permeable to molecules smaller than lOkDa and an inner membrane that is EXTREMELY IMPERMEABLE and is folded into cristae. Although small molecules such as H2O and NH3 can cross the inner membrane, carrier proteins and shuttle systems enable a few exclusive molecules to cross this barrier. 

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