HYPOTHESIS - THE ELECTROCHEMICAL REGULATION OF METABOLISM

An Electrochemical model of metabolism is described that takes account of a variety of metabolic phenomena observed in our laboratory. These include a utilisation by hepatocytes of oxygen, substantially in exce ss of ATP requirements; energy-dependence of the [lactate]/[pyruvate] ratio; non-equilibrium behaviour of the components of the lactate dehy drogenase reaction during ethanol oxidation, and linear relationships between cellular potentials and metabolic fluxes. In the light of thes e findings, we propose as an extension of the Mitchell chemiosmotic hy pothesis, that metabolic pathways are under the control of opposing fa r-from-equilibrium chemical and electrical forces that poise the pathw ays in a balanced state of apparent equilibrium, allowing flux to be r egulated by changes in the magnitude of cellular potentials.