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Multidrug Resistance Transporters

Transporters of All Shapes and Sizes

Bacteria have developed many different types of multidrug resistance transporters to protect themselves from natural and therapeutic antibiotics. Some use the ATP-powered scissoring motion like Sav1866, which is similar to transporters that move other molecules, such as lipids and vitamins, across cell membranes. Some are simpler, such as EmrD from Escherichia coli (PDB entry 2gfp) which forms a small membrane pump that is powered by the flow of hydrogen ions through the protein. Some are very much more complex. The AcrB transporter (PDB entry 1iwg) pumps drugs out of the inner membrane of Escherichia coli and into a tube formed by TolC (PDB entry 1ek9), which directs the drugs all the way out through the outer membrane of the cell. The protein AcrA (PDB entry 2f1m) is thought to form a ring that connects AcrB and TolC, linking the entire complex into a closed tube.

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Last changed by: A.Honegger, 8/6/08