The pore-forming colicins, the first proteins that were capable of forming voltage-dependent ion channels to be sequenced, have turned out to be both less tractable and more mysterious than imagined; yet they have proved interesting at every step of their short journey from producing cell to vanquished target cell. Starting out as a remarkably extended water-soluble protein, the colicin molecule is designed to interact simultaneously with several components of the complex membrane of the target cell, transform itself into a membrane protein, and become an ion channel with inscrutable properties. Unraveling how it does all this appears to be leading us into the dark recesses of protein/protein and protein/membrane interaction, where lurk fundamental processes reluctantly waiting to be revealed. ©Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2001.
CITATION STYLE
Lakey, J. H., & Slatin, S. L. (2000). Pore-forming colicins and their relatives. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56508-3_7
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.