A Maxwellʹs Demon Type of Membrane Transport: Possibility for Active Transport by ABC-Type Transporters?

ATP-binding-cassette (or ABC)-type transporters constitute one of the largest family of membrane transporters in nature. Many of its members move substrates “actively”, i.e. in an ATP-dependent manner against an electrochemical gradient. No consensus is available about the mechanism. Therefore, a novel class of transport mechanisms is proposed based on Maxwellʹs demon idea. This transport mechanism consists of a gated pore that selectively opens for substrates from one, but not the other side. Thermoenergy (Brownian motion) would suffice for substrate translocation across the membrane; energy for synchronizing gate opening with substrate arrival would come from ATP hydrolysis. Simulations demonstrate that such a mechanism would be thermodynamically and kinetically feasible. It exhibits “active”, unidirectional transport, saturation, and other typical features of protein-catalysed reactions. It also shows pore behavior with charged substrates moving under the influence of electrical potentials. Its efficiency depends on a diffusion time constant of the substrate in solution that is slower than the transit time through the membrane, a situation that can realistically be achieved at millimolar or lower substrate concentrations. Features of the novel mechanism that differ significantly from P- or F-type ATPases are: (1) transport cannot be run in “reverse” to synthesize ATP even if sufficient energy is available in the gradient of the transported solute and (2) unidirectional and net substrate fluxes through the transporter diverge with increasing substrate concentration.