COX2/MT-CO2 (E6U9K) Rabbit mAb #50003

The electron transport chain (or respiratory chain) is a series of mitochondrial protein complexes (Complexes I-IV) that utilize coupled reduction-oxidation (redox) reactions to transfer electrons from donor molecules to acceptors. By coupling this electron transport with active proton pumping across the inner mitochondrial membrane, an electrochemical gradient is generated that is used to drive ATP synthesis (1). Complex IV (cytochrome c oxidase) is the terminal complex of the respiratory chain, responsible for transporting electrons from cytochrome c to molecular oxygen. COX2 (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 2), also known as MT-CO2, is one of 14 subunits of cytochrome c oxidase, and one of three subunits (COX1/MT-CO1, COX2/MT-CO2, and COX3/MT-CO3) encoded by the mitochondrial genome (2). These three mitochondrial-encoded subunits form the functional core of cytochrome c oxidase. Research studies have shown that disruptions to COX2/MT-CO2 function can have deleterious health effects. For example, a novel point mutation in the COX2/MT-CO2 gene was identified as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (3), whereas a separate point mutation was causally linked to adult onset cerebellar ataxia (4).