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. Archaea are a unique group of microorganisms classified as bacteria (Archaeobacteria) but genetically and metabolically different from all other known bacteria. They appear to be living fossils, the survivors of an ancient group of organisms that bridged the gap in evolution between bacteria and the eukaryotes.
ABC-transporters have to be distinguished from ABC-proteins....
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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/San Diego
Lage H (2003) ABC-transporters: implications on drug resistance from microorganisms to human cancers. Int J Antimicrob Agents 22:188–199
See Also
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(2012) Epipodophyllotoxins. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of Cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 1291. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_1953
(2012) Multidrug Resistance. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of Cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 2393. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_3887
(2012) Taxane. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of Cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 3614. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_5689
(2012) Verapamil. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of Cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 3906. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_6179
(2012) Vinca Alkaloids. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of Cancer, 3rd edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p 3908. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_6187
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Lage, H. (2014). ABC-Transporters. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-46875-3_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-46875-3_13
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