Respiratory system cell components

The kinetic and equilibrium parameters of L-malate, succinate, citrate, and a-oxoglutarate uptake have been determined in mitochondria isolated from respiratory-competent cells grown under conditions of aerobic derepression, aerobic and anaerobic catabolite repression, and inhibition of mitochondrial protein synthesis, and also in mitochondria prepared from a respiratory-deficient cytoplasmic petite strain. The activity and kinetic characteristics of the systems were similar in all cases. It may be concluded that the protein components of these transport systems are coded entirely by nuclear DNA and are synthesized on the cytoplasmic ribosomes. 

In addition to interacting with cells in the respiratory system, it is also possible that allergens interact with a variety of acellular components within the respiratory tract owing to electrostatic properties, enzymatic activity, or carbohydrate content. For example, basic proteins bind to the sialic acid-rich mucins present in high concentration in respiratory secretions owing to electrostatic interactions... 

Not all the cellular DNA is in the nucleus some is found in the mitochondria. In addition, mitochondria contain RNA as well as several enzymes used for protein synthesis. Interestingly, mitochond-rial RNA and DNA bear a closer resemblance to the nucleic acid of bacterial cells than they do to animal cells. For example, the rather small DNA molecule of the mitochondrion is circular and does not form nucleosomes. Its information is contained in approximately 16,500 nucleotides that func-tion in the synthesis of two ribosomal and 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs). In addition, mitochondrial DNA codes for the synthesis of 13 proteins, all components of the respiratory chain and the oxidative phosphorylation system. Still, mitochondrial DNA does not contain sufficient information for the synthesis of all mitochondrial proteins most are coded by nuclear genes. Most mitochondrial proteins are synthesized in the cytosol from nuclear-derived messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and then transported into the mito-chondria, where they contribute to both the structural and the functional elements of this organelle. Because mitochondria are inherited cytoplasmically, an individual does not necessarily receive mitochondrial nucleic acid equally from each parent. In fact, mito-chondria are inherited maternally. 

These organelles are the sites of energy production of aerobic cells and contain the enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, the respiratory chain, and the fatty acid oxidation system. The mitochondrion is bounded by a pair of specialized membranes that define the separate mitochondrial compartments, the internal matrix space and an intermembrane space. Molecules of 10,000 daltons or less can penetrate the outer membrane, but most of these molecules cannot pass the selectively permeable inner membrane. By a series of infoldings, the internal membrane forms cristae in the matrix space. The components of the respiratory chain and the enzyme complex that makes ATP are embedded in the inner membrane as well as a number of transport proteins that make it selectively permeable to small molecules that are metabolized by the enzymes in the matrix space. Matrix enzymes include those of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, the fatty acid oxidation system, and others. 

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