Introduction of the romA gene cloned from Enterobacter cloacae into Escherichia coli K-12 resulted in almost complete inhibition of OmpF expression and a concomitant increase in resistance to quinolones, beta-lactams, chloramphenicol, and tetracyclines. In addition, the romA gene reduced the susceptibility to these multiple drugs even in the OmpF porin-deficient mutants of E. coli K-12. Results...

The capability of Yersinia ruckeri to survive in the aquatic systems reflects its adaptation (most importantly through the alteration of membrane permeability) to the unfavorable environments. The nonspecific porins are a key factor contributing to the permeability. Here we studied the influence of the stimuli, such as temperature, osmolarity, and oxygen availability on regulation of Y. ruckeri...

Incubation of mitochondrial outer membrane porin with citraconic anhydride prior to treatment with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) resulted in the labeling of a set of lysines located at a boundary between the water phase and lipid phase. The elution pattern of porin from the cation exchanger has been considered as indicative for the location of lysines. Electrical measurements after reconsti...

The major outer membrane protein of Rhodobacter capsulatus 37b4 (capsule-free) was isolated. Strong porin-activity was observed after reconstitution into artificial lipid bilayer membranes with a single channel conductance of 3.15 nS in 1 M KCl. The porin migrated as a broad, single band (Mr above 90,000) on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and dissociated into a single...

Lipid protein interactions play a key role in the stability and function of various membrane proteins. Earlier we have reported the extreme thermal stability of porin from Paracoccus denitrificans reconstituted into liposomes. Here, we used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for a label free analysis of the global secondary structural changes and local changes in the tyrosine microenvironm...

Micromolar concentrations of porin, purified from the outer membranes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, induced in vitro the classic morphological and biochemical signs of apoptosis in an epithelial cell line (SVC1) derived from the rat seminal vesicle secretory epithelium. The programmed cell death (PCD) was p53 independent and associated with significant decrease of bcl-2 expression, a marked increa...

In Enterobacteriaceae, the permeability of the outer membrane to hydrophilic antibiotics is associated with the presence of pore-forming proteins. We tested the diffusion of the fluoroquinolone norfloxacin in four Enterobacter cloacae strains: a clinical isolate and three derivatives variously producing or lacking the D and F porins. We analysed the entry of norfloxacin into E. cloacae cells in...

Native oligomers of three Pseudomonas aeruginosa outer membrane porin proteins and one Escherichia coli porin were demonstrated by using a chemical cross-linking technique. P. aeruginosa protein F, the major constitutive outer membrane porin, was cross-linked to dimers in outer membrane and whole-cell cross-linking experiments. Purified preparations of P. aeruginosa proteins F, D1 (glucose indu...

Involvement of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (PTP) in apoptosis and PTP structure are highly controversial. In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, experiments based on yeast genetics analyse the roles of the three proteins commonly considered to form the PTP, i.e. porin, ADP/ATP carrier (ACC) and mitochondrial cyclophilin, on apoptosis-like cell death. Whereas knocking out cy...

Decreased permeability to imipenem is the most frequent mechanism of imipenem resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We have determined the presence of OprD porin protein, an imipenem influx channel, in 70 carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa clinical isolates by Western blot analysis using rabbit anti-OprD polyclonal antibody. Ninety-eight percent (54 of 55 isolates) of imipenem-and meropenem-res...