Efflux pump-mediated antibiotics resistance: insights from computational structural biology

Interdiscip Sci. 2014 Mar;6(1):1-12. doi: 10.1007/s12539-014-0191-3. Epub 2014 Jan 28.

Abstract

The continuous rise of bacterial resistance against formerly effective pharmaceuticals is a major challenge for biomedical research. Since the first computational studies published seven years ago the simulation-based investigation of antibiotics resistance mediated by multidrug efflux pumps of the resistance nodulation division (RND) protein super family has grown into a vivid field of research. Here we review the employment of molecular dynamics computer simulations to investigate RND efflux pumps focusing on our group's recent contributions to this field studying questions of energy conversion and substrate transport in the inner membrane antiporter AcrB in Escherichia coli as well as access regulation and gating mechanism in the outer membrane efflux ducts TolC and OprM in E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / metabolism
  • Computer Simulation
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial*
  • Escherichia coli / drug effects*
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / metabolism
  • Membrane Transport Proteins / metabolism
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Protons
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / metabolism
  • Software

Substances

  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins
  • Escherichia coli Proteins
  • Membrane Transport Proteins
  • OprM protein, Pseudomonas aeruginosa
  • Protons
  • tolC protein, E coli