Inhibition of the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter by pure and impure ruthenium red.

Commercial ruthenium red is often purified by a single recrystallization as described by Luft, J.H. (1971) Anat Rec 171, 347-368, which yields small amounts of material having an apparent molar extinction coefficient of approximately 67,400 at 533 nm. A simple modification to the procedure dramatically improves the yield, allowing crystallization to be repeated. Three times recrystallized ruthenium red has an apparent extinction coefficient of approximately 85,900, the highest value reported to date. Both crude and highly purified ruthenium red can be shown to inhibit reverse activity of the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter (uncoupled mitochondria), provided that care is taken to minimize and account for Ca2+ release through the permeability transition pore. Crude ruthenium red is 7-10 fold more potent than the highly purified material in this regard, on an actual ruthenium red concentration basis. The same relative potency is seen against forward uniport (coupled mitochondria), however, the I50 values are 10 fold lower for both the crude and purified preparations. These data demonstrate unambiguously that the energy state of mitochondria affects the sensitivity of the Ca2+ uniporter to ruthenium red preparations, and that both the forward and reverse reactions are subject to complete inhibition. The data suggest, however, that the active inhibitor may not be ruthenium red per se, but one or more of the other ruthenium complexes which are present in ruthenium red preparations.

Purity of ruthenium red used in pharmacological research.

The inorganic dye, ruthenium red, is an ammoniated form of ruthenium oxychloride. The purity of commercial samples of ruthenium red has been confused as commercial vendors often provide a "dye content" figure for their product, which some investigators have equated with purity. However, dye content is the same as ruthenium content and is not related to purity, although it will affect the relative molecular weight of this compound. As a result, concentrations of ruthenium red used in various biochemical studies have been calculated based on the supposed impurity of the commercial product, a product purified in the laboratory of the investigator, or by simply ignoring this purity question. Purity of four different commercial products as well as two different "purified" materials was determined by comparison of absorbance spectra and extinction coefficients. Taking into account differences in the relative ruthenium content of each preparation of ruthenium red, the results demonstrate no significant differences between these materials indicating that commercially available samples of ruthenium red are essentially pure.

An effective electron donor to cytochrome oxidase. Purification, identification, and kinetic characterization of a contaminant of ruthenium red, hexaamineruthenium II/III.

When the calcium-transport inhibitor, ruthenium red, is chromatographed on a cation exchange resin, it yields a number of colored fractions and a colorless component that absorbs in the ultraviolet. The electron transfer activity previously ascribed to ruthenium red (Schwerzmann, K., Gazzotti, P., and Carafoli, E. (1976) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 69, 812) fractionates exclusively with the UV-absorbing material. On the basis of spectral, physical, and activity studies, we have identified this compound as Ru(NH3)62+/3+. It is shown that Ru(NH3)62+/3+ is an efficient electron donor directly to cytochrome oxidase, without mediation by cytochrome c. The steady state kinetics of electron transfer from Ru(NH3)62+ to purified oxidase resembles that of cytochrome c, showing a biphasic pattern but higher apparent Km values (Km1 = 8 microM, Km2 = 88 microM). Under conditions that favor tight binding to the oxidase, cytochrome c acts as a competitive inhibitor of Ru(NH3)62+, indicating that the two electron donors interact with cytochrome oxidase at the same site(s). The efficiency of Ru(NH3)62+ as an electron mediator to cytochrome aa3 and the similarity of its kinetic behavior to that of cytochrome c, make it a potentially valuable tool for investigating the mechanism of energy conservation in the terminal segment of the mitochondrial respiratory chain.