ArticleCell2020
LetB Structure Reveals a Tunnel for Lipid Transport across the Bacterial Envelope.
Article in Cell, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 67 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interactions of outer membrane lipoproteins Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA3214 and Escherichia coli PqiC with their MCE protein binding partners, PA3213 and PqiB.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2026Article
- Mce transport systems inJournal of bacteriology · 2026Review
- Bacterial lipids traverse the hydrophobic groove of TamB.Biophysical journal · 2026Article
- Integration of Membrane Proteins into the Outer Membrane of Diderm Bacteria by the BAM Complex.Chemical reviews · 2026Review
- Article
- Structural basis of outer membrane biogenesis by the TamAB translocase.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Investigation of Lipid Transfer between Model Membranes and the Effect of a Transport Protein on Trafficking.ACS omega · 2025Article
- A chimeric Mla-Pqi lipid transport system is required for Brucella abortus survival in macrophages.The EMBO journal · 2025Article
- Inhibiting Lipopolysaccharide Biogenesis: The More You Know the Further You Go.Annual review of biochemistry · 2025Review
- Terrabacteria: redefining bacterial envelope diversity, biogenesis and evolution.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2025Review
- Breaking Barriers: Exploiting Envelope Biogenesis and Stress Responses to Develop Novel Antimicrobial Strategies in Gram-Negative Bacteria.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- The Structural Features of MlaD Illuminate its Unique Ligand-Transporting Mechanism and Ancestry.The protein journal · 2024Article
- Multidrug efflux pumps ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- An octameric PqiC toroid stabilises the outer-membrane interaction of the PqiABC transport system.EMBO reports · 2024Article
- Phospholipid transport to the bacterial outer membrane through an envelope-spanning bridge.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- A conserved membrane protein negatively regulates Mce1 complexes in mycobacteria.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Article
- Endoplasmic Reticulum Membrane Contact Sites, Lipid Transport, and Neurodegeneration.Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology · 2023Review
- Structure of an endogenous mycobacterial MCE lipid transporter.Research square · 2023Article
- Lipid Transport Across Bacterial Membranes.Annual review of cell and developmental biology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Gram-negative bacteria are surrounded by an outer membrane composed of phospholipids and lipopolysaccharide, which acts as a barrier and contributes to antibiotic resistance. The systems that mediate phospholipid trafficking across the periplasm, such as MCE (Mammalian Cell Entry) transporters, have not been well characterized. Our ~3.5 Å cryo-EM structure of the E. coli MCE protein LetB reveals an ~0.6 megadalton complex that consists of seven stacked rings, with a central hydrophobic tunnel sufficiently long to span the periplasm. Lipids bind inside the tunnel, suggesting that it functions as a pathway for lipid transport. Cryo-EM structures in the open and closed states reveal a dynamic tunnel lining, with implications for gating or substrate translocation. Our results support a model in which LetB establishes a physical link between the two membranes and creates a hydrophobic pathway for the translocation of lipids across the periplasm.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.