Description | Succinic acid is a dicarboxylic acid. The anion, succinate, is a component of the citric acid cycle capable of donating electrons to the electron transfer chain. Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) plays an important role in the mitochondria, being both part of the respiratory chain and the Krebs cycle. SDH with a covalently attached FAD prosthetic group, binds enzyme substrates (succinate and fumarate) and physiological regulators (oxaloacetate and ATP). Oxidizing succinate links SDH to the fast-cycling Krebs cycle portion where it participates in the breakdown of acetyl-CoA throughout the whole Krebs cycle. The succinate can readily be imported into the mitochondrial matrix by the n-butylmalonate- (or phenylsuccinate-) sensitive dicarboxylate carrier in exchange with inorganic phosphate or another organic acid, e. g. malate. (PMID 16143825) Mutations in the four genes encoding the subunits of the mitochondrial respiratory chain succinate dehydrogenase are associated with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations (i.e.: Huntington's disease. (PMID 11803021) |