title: Heavy metal transport by the CusCFBA efflux system.
abstract: It is widely accepted that the increased use of antibiotics has resulted in bacteria with developed resistance to such treatments. These organisms are capable of forming multi-protein structures that bridge both the inner and outer membrane to expel diverse toxic compounds directly from the cell. Proteins of the resistance nodulation cell division (RND) superfamily typically assemble as tripartite efflux pumps, composed of an inner membrane transporter, a periplasmic membrane fusion protein, and an outer membrane factor channel protein. These machines are the most powerful antimicrobial efflux machinery available to bacteria. In Escherichia coli, the CusCFBA complex is the only known RND transporter with a specificity for heavy metals, detoxifying both Cu(+) and Ag(+) ions. In this review, we discuss the known structural information for the CusCFBA proteins, with an emphasis on their assembly, interaction, and the relationship between structure and function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011.
authors.forename: Jared A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Delmar
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011.
authors.forename: Chih-Chia
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011.|Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011.
authors.forename: Edward W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008958:Models, Molecular
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D019216:Metals, Heavy
keywords: CusCFBA efflux system; heavy metal resistance; multidrug resistance; resistance-nodulation-cell division