Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide - Concentration and State in Cells

Concentration and State in Cells

In rat liver, the total amount of NAD+ and NADH is approximately 1 μmole per gram of wet weight, about 10 times the concentration of NADP+ and NADPH in the same cells. The actual concentration of NAD+ in cell cytosol is harder to measure, with recent estimates in animal cells, ranging around 0.3 mM, and approximately 1.0 to 2.0 mM in yeast. However, more than 80% of NADH fluorescence in mitochondrial is from bound form, so the concentration in solution is much lower.

Data for other compartments in the cell are limited, although, in the mitochondrion the concentration of NAD+ is similar to that in the cytosol. This NAD+ is carried into the mitochondrion by a specific membrane transport protein, since the coenzyme cannot diffuse across membranes.

The balance between the oxidized and reduced forms of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide is called the NAD+/NADH ratio. This ratio is an important component of what is called the redox state of a cell, a measurement that reflects both the metabolic activities and the health of cells. The effects of the NAD+/NADH ratio are complex, controlling the activity of several key enzymes, including glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase and pyruvate dehydrogenase. In healthy mammalian tissues, estimates of the ratio between free NAD+ and NADH in the cytoplasm typically lie around 700; the ratio is thus favourable for oxidative reactions. The ratio of total NAD+/NADH is much lower, with estimates ranging from 0.05 to 4. In contrast, the NADP+/NADPH ratio is normally about 0.005, so NADPH is the dominant form of this coenzyme. These different ratios are key to the different metabolic roles of NADH and NADPH.