Cover Feature: The Effect of Reactive Oxygen Species on Respiratory Complex I Activity in Liposomes (Chem. Eur. J. 55/2024)

The enzyme respiratory complex I is a major contributor to reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mitochondria. How complex I produces ROS has been investigated extensively. However, it has been difficult to understand the downstream effect of these ROS. Here, researchers put complex I into artificial membrane vesicles doped with spin-labelled lipids to “spy” on the ROS by using EPR spectroscopy. They show that reversible changes in the membrane, caused by ROS, decrease complex I activity. More information can be found in the Research Article by M. M. Roessler and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/chem.202402035).