Faltung und Einbau von Außenmembran proteinen in Lipidmembranen

β-barrel transmembrane proteins are present in outer membranes of bacteria and organelles of eukaryotic cells like mitochondria and chloroplasts. After their synthesis in the cytosol, bacterial outer membrane proteins are translocated in unfolded form across the cytoplasmic membrane into the periplasm. Chaperones assist their transport to the β-barrel assembly machinery BAM of the outer membrane. Biophysical studies on outer membrane protein A indicated a concerted folding and insertion mechanism into lipid bilayers for which the activation energy is lowered by the BAM-complex.