How Cryo-EM Has Expanded Our Understanding of Membrane Transporters

Drug Metab Dispos. 2023 Aug;51(8):904-922. doi: 10.1124/dmd.122.001004. Epub 2023 Jul 12.

Abstract

Over the past two decades, technological advances in membrane protein structural biology have provided insight into the molecular mechanisms that transporters use to move diverse substrates across the membrane. However, the plasticity of these proteins' ligand binding pockets, which allows them to bind a range of substrates, also poses a challenge for drug development. Here we highlight the structure, function, and transport mechanism of ATP-binding cassette/solute carrier transporters that are related to several diseases and multidrug resistance: ABCB1, ABCC1, ABCG2, SLC19A1, and SLC29A1. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: ATP-binding cassette transporters and solute carriers play vital roles in clinical chemotherapeutic outcomes. This paper describes the current understanding of the structure of five pharmacologically relevant transporters and how they interact with their ligands.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters / metabolism
  • Cryoelectron Microscopy
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
  • Membrane Transport Proteins*
  • Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins* / metabolism

Substances

  • Membrane Transport Proteins
  • Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins
  • ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters