Synonyms
Multidrug resistance transporters; Traffic ATPases; Permeases (for import systems)
Definition
ABC (ATP-binding cassette)-transporters are membrane-embedded proteins with a characteristic ABC domain that utilize the energy from ATP hydrolysis for the transport of their substrates across a cellular membrane.
Characteristics
The superfamily of ABC-transporters comprises one of the most abundant protein families in nature. These transporters are believed to date back in evolutionary time more than 3 billion years and are distributed in all three kingdoms of living organisms, archaea, eubacteria, and eukaryotes. ABC-transporters have to be distinguished from ABC-proteins. Both types of proteins are defined by the presence of a highly conserved ~215 amino acids consensus sequence designated as ABC domain or nucleotide-binding domain (NBD). The domain contains two short peptide motifs, a glycine-rich Walker A and a hydrophobic Walker B motif, both involved in ATP binding and...
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References
Gottesman MM, Fojo T, Bates SE (2002) Multidrug resistance in cancer: role of ATP-dependent transporters. Nat Rev Cancer:2:48–58
Higgins CF (1993) ABC transporters: from microorganisms to man. Annu Rev Cell Biol 8: 7–113
Holland IB, Cole SPC, Kuchler K, Higgins CF (eds) (2003) ABC proteins from bacteria to man. Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier Science, London (UK) and San Diego (CA, USA)
Lage H (2003) ABC-transporters: implications on drug resistance from microorganisms to human cancers. Int J Antimicrob Agents 22:188–199
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© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York
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Lage, H. (2008). ABC-Transporters. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-47648-1_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-47648-1_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-36847-2
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