Interfacial interactions of pore-forming colicins

Adv Exp Med Biol. 2010:677:81-90. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4419-6327-7_7.

Abstract

Colicins are water soluble toxins secreted by E. coli cells to kill other E. coli and related species. To do this they need to cross the outer membrane, periplasm and inner membrane. Pore forming colicins, as their name suggests form a voltage dependent pore in the inner membrane. This chapter deals with the interfaces, both lipid and protein, that the colicins experience as they make the short but complex journey that brings them to the point of pore formation. The succession of molecular interactions with lipid and protein receptors causes a series of conformational changes which allow these large > 40 kDa proteins to outwit the normally tight defensive shield of the target cell. This is done by combining general physico-chemical interfacial interactions, such as the use of amphipathic helical peptides, with precisely targeted protein-protein interactions involving both rigid and natively disordered protein domains.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Cell Membrane / chemistry*
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism
  • Colicins / chemistry*
  • Colicins / metabolism
  • Escherichia coli / chemistry*
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism
  • Membrane Lipids / chemistry*
  • Membrane Lipids / metabolism
  • Periplasm / chemistry
  • Periplasm / metabolism
  • Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins / chemistry*
  • Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins / metabolism
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Protein Transport

Substances

  • Colicins
  • Membrane Lipids
  • Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins