Differences in brain cytochrome responses to carbon monoxide and cyanide in vivo.

Cytochrome oxidation-reduction responses to two mitochondrial electron transport inhibitors, carbon monoxide (CO) and cyanide (CN), were studied in the intact brains of fluorocarbon-circulated rats. In vivo reflectance spectrophotometry indicated that cortical b-type cytochromes (564 nm) were highly resistant to reduction by CN in the presence of O2 but showed reduction responses to the administration of 1-5% CO in 90% O2. In contrast, cyanide-sensitive cytochromes aa3 (605 nm) and c + c1 (551 nm) did not increase their reduction levels during exposure to 5% CO in 90% O2. The in vivo CO-mediated b-cytochrome reduction responses did not occur after pretreatment with the cytochrome b inhibitor, antimycin A. Transmission spectrophotometry of superfused hemoglobin-free rat brain slices confirmed cortical b-type cytochromes to be CN-resistant in the presence of O2. Another cytochrome absorbing at 445 nm also was resistant to reduction by 1-mM cyanide in vitro, but it could be reduced anaerobically. The reduced 445-nm cytochrome bound CO in the presence of cyanide. We postulate that this CN-resistant CO binding component might account for in vivo cytochrome aa3-CO interactions and directly or indirectly modulate cytochrome b reduction responses to CO. In any event, the spectral data indicate different primary tissue target sites for CO and CN in living rat brain and also suggest different bioenergetic consequences of exposure to the two agents.