Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41839863›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

A model for drug transport across two membranes of Gram-negative bacteria by an MFS tripartite assembly.

Zhaojun Zhong, Tuerxunjiang Maimaiti, Matthew L Jackson, Rui Dong, Xueyan Gao, Qing Ouyang, Wenqian Wang, Jinliang Guo, Shangrong Li, Wenyu Shang and 7 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Zhaojun Zhong *School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
Tuerxunjiang Maimaiti *School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-0309-9682
Matthew L Jackson *Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Rui Dong *Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Xueyan Gao *School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-3869-7164
Qing OuyangSchool of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
Wenqian WangSchool of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
Jinliang GuoSchool of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-3375-0196
Shangrong LiSchool of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-5390-1504
Wenyu ShangSchool of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-1196-3143
Huajun LiuSchool of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-1058-5433
Hongnian JiangShanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Shuo ZhangShanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Ulrich ZachariaeBiological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK. u.zachariae@dundee.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3287-8494
Ben F LuisiDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. bfl20@cam.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1144-9877
Yanjie ChaoShanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. yjchao@ips.ac.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5735-7954
Dijun DuState Key Laboratory of Metabolic Dysregulation & Prevention and Treatment of Esophageal Cancer, Tianjian Laboratory of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, School of Convergence Medicine, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China. dudijun7025@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-8825-4932

Funding

EC | EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020 | H2020 Priority Excellent Science | H2020 European Research Council (H2020 Excellent Science - European Research Council) 742210Wellcome Trust (Wellcome) 200873/Z/16/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Transport of proteins and small molecules across cellular membrane is crucial for bacterial interaction with the environment and survival against antibiotics. In Gram-negative bacteria that possess two layers of membranes, specialized macromolecular machines are required to transport substrates across the cell envelope, often via an indirect stepwise process. The major facilitator superfamily (MFS)-type tripartite efflux pumps use proton electrochemical gradient to extrude drugs in diverse bacterial species, but the architecture of the assembly and structural mechanisms remain elusive. A representative MFS-type tripartite efflux pump, EmrAB-TolC, mediates resistance to multiple antimicrobial drugs through proton-coupled EmrB, a member of the DHA2 transporter family. Here, we report the high-resolution (3.13 Å) structure of the EmrAB-TolC pump, revealing a distinct, asymmetric architecture emerging from the assembly of TolC:EmrA:EmrB with a ratio of 3:6:1 and contacts that are essential for the pump assembly. Key residues involved in drug transport are identified and corroborated by mutagenesis and antibiotic sensitivity assays. The structural and functional data support a model for one-step drug transport by the MFS pump across the entire envelope of Gram-negative bacteria.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsBacterial Outer Membrane ProteinsCell MembraneEscherichia coli ProteinsGram-Negative BacteriaMembrane Transport ProteinsBiological TransportCrystallography, X-RayEscherichia coliModels, MolecularAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacterial Outer Membrane ProteinsEscherichia coli ProteinsMembrane Transport ProteinstolC protein, E coli

Identifiers

PMID41839863
PMCPMC13139468

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.