Swimming through the hydrophobic sea: new insights in protein translocation

The study of protein translocation is imperative to initiating the death of target cells specifically those which cause deadly diseases such as diphtheria. Bacterial toxin proteins exact their deadly intent by entering the cytoplasm carrying their own translocation apparatus prior to forming ion channels in their membranes thereby dissipating the transmembrane ionic gradients required for bacterial survival. It is this lipid bilayer of biological membranes which membrane and secreted proteins have to get through this in order to survive and defeat these toxin proteins.