Sea Anemones, Actinoporins, and Cholesterol

Overview

Journal Int J Mol Sci

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Chemistry
Molecular Biology

Date 2022 Aug 12

PMID 35955905

Authors

Juan Palacios-Ortega

Diego Heras-Marquez

Rafael Amigot-Sanchez

Carmen Garcia-Montoya

Carlos Torrijos

Diego Laxalde

Jose G Gavilanes

Sara Garcia-Linares

Alvaro Martinez-Del-Pozo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Spanish or Spanish-speaking scientists represent a remarkably populated group within the scientific community studying pore-forming proteins. Some of these scientists, ourselves included, focus on the study of actinoporins, a fascinating group of metamorphic pore-forming proteins produced within the venom of several sea anemones. These toxic proteins can spontaneously transit from a water-soluble fold to an integral membrane ensemble because they specifically recognize sphingomyelin in the membrane. Once they bind to the bilayer, they subsequently oligomerize into a pore that triggers cell-death by osmotic shock. In addition to sphingomyelin, some actinoporins are especially sensible to some other membrane components such as cholesterol. Our group from Universidad Complutense of Madrid has focused greatly on the role played by sterols in this water-membrane transition, a question which still remains only partially solved and constitutes the main core of the article below.

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