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Protein export and drug efflux through bacterial channel-tunnels
C Andersen1, C Hughes, V Koronakis
1Cambridge University Department of Pathology, Tennis Court Road, CB2 1QP, Cambridge, UK.
Current Opinion in Cell Biology
|July 17, 2001
Abstract:
The bacterial protein TolC assembles into an alpha-helical trans-periplasmic tunnel, which is embedded in the outer membrane by a contiguous beta-barrel channel. TolC and its homologues thus provide large exit ducts for a wide range of substrates, including protein toxins and antibacterial drugs, that are engaged by specific recognition proteins in the cytosolic membrane.