Voltage Dependent Anion Channel Protein 2 (VDAC2)

The voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) of the outer mitochondrial membrane, a small abundant protein found in all eukaryotic kingdoms, forms a voltage-gated pore when incorporated into planar lipid bilayers. VDAC is also the site of binding of the metabolic enzymes hexokinase and glycerol kinase to the mitochondrion in what may be a significant metabolic regulatory interaction. In addition, expression of the human proteins in such strains complemented phenotypic defects associated with elimination of the endogenous yeast VDAC gene. Mitochondria expressing VDAC1 were capable of specifically binding hexokinase, whereas mitochondria expressing VDAC2 only bound hexokinase at background levels. Each human cDNA was expressed in essentially all human cell lines and tissues examined.