How beta-lactam antibiotics enter bacteria: a dialogue with the porins.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Multi-drug resistant (MDR) infections have become a major concern in hospitals worldwide. This study investigates membrane translocation, which is the first step required for drug action on internal bacterial targets. beta-lactams, a major antibiotic class, use porins to pass through the outer membrane barrier of Gram-negative bacteria. Clinical reports have linked the MDR phenotype to altered membrane permeability including porin modification and efflux pump expression.

Methodology/principal findings

Here influx of beta-lactams through the major Enterobacter aerogenes porin Omp36 is characterized. Conductance measurements through a single Omp36 trimer reconstituted into a planar lipid bilayer allowed us to count the passage of single beta-lactam molecules. Statis

SUBMITTER: James CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2677626 | biostudies-literature | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature