Influenza M2 proton channels.

ABSTRACT: M2 of the influenza virus is an intriguing transmembrane protein that forms a minuscule proton channel in the viral envelope. Its recognized function is to equilibrate pH across the viral membrane during cell entry and across the trans-Golgi membrane of infected cells during viral maturation. It is vital for viral replication and it is a target for the anti-influenza drugs, amantadine and rimantadine. Recently, high resolution structures of M2 channels of both flu A and B have been obtained, providing the desperately needed structural details for understanding the mechanism of proton conductance. In particular, the establishment of the functional solution NMR system of the proton channels enabled simultaneous high resolution structure characterization and measurement of channel dynamics co

SUBMITTER: Pielak RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3108042 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature