Outer Membrane Porins

Abstract

The transport of small molecules across membranes is essential for the import of nutrients and other energy sources into the cell and, for the export of waste and other potentially harmful byproducts out of the cell. While hydrophobic molecules are permeable to membranes, ions and other small polar molecules require transport via specialized membrane transport proteins. The two major classes of membrane transport proteins are transporters and channels. With our focus here on porins—major class of non-specific diffusion channel proteins, we will highlight some recent structural biology reports and functional assays that have substantially contributed to our understanding of the mechanism that mediates uptake of small molecules, including antibiotics, across the outer membrane of Enterobacteriaceae. We will also review advances in the regulation of porin expression and porin biogenesis and discuss these pathways as new therapeutic targets.