Ros Uris, García-Sáez Ana J
Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, Calle 25 # 455, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana, Cuba.
J Membr Biol. 2015 Jun;248(3):545-61. doi: 10.1007/s00232-015-9820-y. Epub 2015 Jun 19.
Pore-forming proteins (PFPs) punch holes in their target cell membrane to alter their permeability. Permeabilization of lipid membranes by PFPs has received special attention to study the basic molecular mechanisms of protein insertion into membranes and the development of biotechnological tools. PFPs act through a general multi-step mechanism that involves (i) membrane partitioning, (ii) insertion into the hydrophobic core of the bilayer, (iii) oligomerization, and (iv) pore formation. Interestingly, PFPs and membranes show a dynamic interplay. As PFPs are usually produced as soluble proteins, they require a large conformational change for membrane insertion. Moreover, membrane structure is modified upon PFPs insertion. In this context, the toroidal pore model has been proposed to describe a pore architecture in which not only protein molecules but also lipids are directly involved in the structure. Here, we discuss how PFPs and lipids cooperate and remodel each other to achieve pore formation, and explore new evidences of protein-lipid pore structures.
成孔蛋白（PFPs）在其靶细胞膜上打孔以改变其通透性。PFPs对脂质膜的通透作用在研究蛋白质插入膜的基本分子机制和生物技术工具的开发方面受到了特别关注。PFPs通过一个一般的多步骤机制发挥作用，该机制包括：（i）膜分配，（ii）插入双层膜的疏水核心，（iii）寡聚化，以及（iv）孔形成。有趣的是，PFPs与膜之间存在动态相互作用。由于PFPs通常以可溶性蛋白形式产生，它们需要发生大的构象变化才能插入膜中。此外，PFPs插入后膜结构会发生改变。在此背景下，环形孔模型被提出来描述一种孔结构，其中不仅蛋白质分子，而且脂质也直接参与该结构。在这里，我们讨论PFPs和脂质如何相互协作并重塑彼此以实现孔形成，并探索蛋白质-脂质孔结构的新证据。
