Biochemical Reconstitution and Characterization of Multicomponent Drug Efflux Transporters

Methods Mol Biol. 2018:1700:113-145. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7454-2_8.

Abstract

Efflux pumps are the major determinants in bacterial multidrug resistance. In Gram-negative bacteria, efflux transporters are organized as macromolecular tripartite machineries that span the two-membrane cell envelope of the bacterium. Biochemical data on purified proteins are essential to draw a mechanistic picture of this highly dynamical, multicomponent, efflux system. We describe protocols for the reconstitution and the in vitro study of transporters belonging to RND and ABC superfamilies: the AcrAB-TolC and MacAB-TolC efflux systems from Escherichia coli and the MexAB-OprM efflux pump from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Keywords: Membrane protein purification; Proteoliposomes; Transport kinetics.

MeSH terms

  • ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters / metabolism
  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / metabolism
  • Bacterial Proteins / isolation & purification
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism*
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / metabolism
  • Membrane Transport Proteins / isolation & purification*
  • Membrane Transport Proteins / metabolism
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / metabolism*

Substances

  • ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters
  • AcrAB-TolC protein, E coli
  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Escherichia coli Proteins
  • MacAB protein, E coli
  • Membrane Transport Proteins
  • MexA protein, Pseudomonas aeruginosa
  • MexB protein, Pseudomonas aeruginosa
  • OprM protein, Pseudomonas aeruginosa