AUTHOR=Nishino Kunihiko , Yamasaki Seiji , Nakashima Ryosuke , Zwama Martijn , Hayashi-Nishino Mitsuko 

TITLE=Function and Inhibitory Mechanisms of Multidrug Efflux Pumps

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.737288

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.737288

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Multidrug efflux pumps are inner membrane transporters that export multiple antibiotics from the inside to the outside of bacterial cells, contributing to bacterial multidrug resistance (MDR). Postgenomic analysis has demonstrated that numerous multidrug efflux pumps exist in bacteria. Also, the co-crystal structural analysis of multidrug efflux pumps revealed the drug recognition and export mechanisms, and the inhibitory mechanisms of the pumps. A single multidrug efflux pump can export multiple antibiotics; hence, developing efflux pump inhibitors is crucial in overcoming infectious diseases caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria. This review article describes the role of multidrug efflux pumps in MDR, and their physiological functions and inhibitory mechanisms.</p>