[摘要]:This article reviews the contribution of Antonio Xavier and his associates to the study of multihaem cytochromes. Detailed analysis of interactions between the charges of the haems and protonatable groups reveals that electrostatic effects may be outweighed by subtle changes in conformation. This helps us to understand how tetrahaem cytochromes c(3) work and also gives an insight into the mechanism of cytochrome c oxidase. (C) 2011 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved. |