Channel-forming bacterial toxins in biosensing and macromolecule delivery.

ABSTRACT: To intoxicate cells, pore-forming bacterial toxins are evolved to allow for the transmembrane traffic of different substrates, ranging from small inorganic ions to cell-specific polypeptides. Recent developments in single-channel electrical recordings, X-ray crystallography, protein engineering, and computational methods have generated a large body of knowledge about the basic principles of channel-mediated molecular transport. These discoveries provide a robust framework for expansion of the described principles and methods toward use of biological nanopores in the growing field of nanobiotechnology. This article, written for a special volume on "Intracellular Traffic and Transport of Bacterial Protein Toxins", reviews the current state of applications of pore-forming bacterial toxins in

SUBMITTER: Gurnev PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4147595 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature