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  • Review
  • Open Access

8 December 2004

16 Pages

What Do Proton Motive Force Driven Multidrug Resistance Transporters Have in Common?

,
and
Department of Microbiology, University of Groningen, Kerklaan 30, NL-9751 NN Haren, The Netherlands
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Current address: Department of Infectious Diseases, Centre for Molecular Microbiology and Infection, Imperial College London, Flowers Building, Armstrong Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK

Abstract

The extensive progress of genome sequencing projects in recent years has demonstrated that multidrug resistance (MDR) transporters are widely spread among all domains of life. This indicates that they play crucial roles in the survival of organisms. Moreover, antibiotic and chemotherapeutic treatments have revealed that microorganisms and cancer cells may use MDR transporters to fight the cytotoxic action of drugs. Currently, several MDR extrusion systems are being investigated in detail. It is expected that understanding of the molecular basis of multidrug recognition and the transport mechanisms will allow a more rational design of new drugs which either will not be recognized and expelled by or will efficiently inhibit the activity of the MDR transporters. MDR transporters either utilize ATP hydrolysis or an ion motive force as an energy source to drive drugs out of the cell. This review summarizes the recent progress in the field of bacterial proton motive force driven MDR transporters.
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