Pathway: Mitochondrial ABC transporters
Reactions in pathway: Mitochondrial ABC transporters :
Mitochondrial ABC transporters
Mammalian ABC transporters are usually found on the plasma membrane and on organelles such as the ER and peroxisome but a small number are also located on the mitochondria. Here they are thought to play roles in heme biosynthesis and iron-sulphur cluster synthesis (Burke & Ardehali 2007).
The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily of active transporters involves a large number of functionally diverse transmembrane proteins. They transport a variety of compounds through membranes against steep concentration gradients at the cost of ATP hydrolysis. These substrates include amino acids, lipids, inorganic ions, peptides, saccharides, peptides for antigen presentation, metals, drugs, and proteins. The ABC transporters not only move a variety of substrates into and out of the cell, but are also involved in intracellular compartmental transport. Energy derived from the hydrolysis of ATP is used to transport the substrate across the membrane against a concentration gradient. Human genome contains 48 ABC genes; 16 of these have a known function and 14 are associated with a defined human disease (Dean et al. 2001, Borst and Elferink 2002, Rees et al. 2009).
By definition cells have a critical separation between inner (cytoplasmic) and outer (extracellular) compartments. This separation provides for protection, gradient assembly, and environmental control but at the same time isolates the interior compartments of the cell from energy resources, oxygen, and raw materials. Cells have evolved a myriad of mechanisms to regulate, and enable transportation of small molecules ascross plasma membranes and between cellular organelle compartments within cells.