The impact of the C-terminal domain on the gating properties of MscCG from Corynebacterium glutamicum.

The mechanosensitive (MS) channel MscCG from the soil bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum functions as a major glutamate exporter. MscCG belongs to a subfamily of the bacterial MscS-like channels, which play an important role in osmoregulation. To understand the structural and functional features of MscCG, we investigated the role of the carboxyl-terminal domain, whose relevance for the channel gating has been unknown.

Magnetic nanoparticles for "smart liposomes".

Liposomal drug delivery systems (LDDSs) are promising tools used for the treatment of diseases where highly toxic pharmacological agents are administered. Currently, destabilising LDDSs by a specific stimulus at a target site remains a major challenge. The bacterial mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) presents an excellent candidate biomolecule that could be employed as a remotely controlled pore-forming nanovalve for triggered drug release from LDDSs.