Pore-Forming Toxin Interactions with the Membrane

Dear Colleagues,

Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) are used both to promote host defense and as key bacterial virulence factors. They disrupt lipid membranes and are difficult to target therapeutically. Understanding how PFTs engage with the membrane is critical to learning how to effectively target PFTs for therapy. While considerable progress has been made in this area, there remain key unknowns in several aspects of PFT–membrane biology. For example, how do PFTs target the membrane? What structural changes and regulatory factors are needed to recruit PFTs to the membrane? How does membrane composition impact PFT binding, oligomerization, and pore formation? How and what signals are generated by PFT interactions with the membrane and receptors? What commonalities exist between PFTs from different classes and/or organisms?

This Special Issue will focus on the interaction of pore-forming toxins with cell membranes, the functional outcomes of these interactions, and membrane responses to these toxins. Nonlethal toxin–membrane interactions, and novel insights into membrane organization, are areas of especial interest.

Dr. Peter A. Keyel
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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