VDAC Interactions with Lipids and Their Effect on Isoform Specificity

The Voltage-Dependent Anion Channel (VDAC) is a β-barrel, the most abundant protein of the mitochondrial outer membrane, allowing passage of ions and metabolites (such as ATP, ADP, NADH⋯) in and out of the mitochondria. Besides its transport function, VDAC is also implicated in mitochondrial regulation with roles in apoptosis, calcium homeostasis or neurodegeneration. However, its role in those different pathways remains to be understood at the molecular level. VDAC possesses 3 isoforms in mammals (VDAC1, 2 and 3), sharing a high sequence identity, the same architecture and an overlapping tissue distribution.