title: Three's company: component structures bring a closer view of tripartite drug efflux pumps.
abstract: Bacterial multidrug resistance is a serious clinical problem and is commonly conferred by tripartite efflux 'pumps' in the prokaryotic cell envelope. Crystal structures of the three components of a drug efflux pump have now been solved: the outer membrane TolC exit duct in the year 2000, the inner membrane AcrB antiporter in 2002 and the periplasmic adaptor MexA in 2004. These structures have enhanced our understanding of the principles underlying pump assembly and operation, and present pumps as new drug targets.
authors.affiliation: Cambridge University Department of Pathology, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QP, UK.
authors.forename: Jeyanthy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eswaran
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Koronakis
authors.forename: Matthew K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Vassilis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Koronakis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001693:Biological Transport, Active / Q000502:physiology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D027425:ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family C Proteins; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D027425:ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family C Proteins; C083496:AcrB protein, E coli; C118598:MexA protein, Pseudomonas aeruginosa; C073126:tolC protein, E coli