Reconstitution of the monosaccharide-transport system of the human erythrocyte membrane.

Several investigations have indicated that the monosaccharide-transport system of the human erythrocyte membrane is associated with the major intrinsic polypeptide component known as Band 3 in the polyacrylamide-gel pattern of the solubilized membrane proteins (Steck, 1974; Lin & Spudich, 1974; Carter et al., 1973; Taverna & Langdon, 1973). Kasahara & Hinkle (1976) have produced liposomes incorporating predominantly Band-3 polypeptides, which rapidly take up D-glucose. There have been some unsuccessful attempts to reconstitute a facilitated diffusion system for monosaccharides in planar black lipid membranes (Jung, 1971; Lidgard & Jones, 1975). Here we report the reconstitution of monosaccharide transport in black lipid membranes formed from egg lecithin/cholesterol/n-decane in the presence of Triton X-100-solubilized fractions of the erythrocyte membrane.