Mechanisms of Lipid-Mediated Regulation of the Pore-Forming Activity of Antimicrobial Agents: Studies on Planar Lipid Bilayers

Planar lipid bilayers are unique tools designed for modeling cell membranes and electrophysiological studies of incorporated ion channels. Such model systems are designed to limit the number of components taking part in the functioning of biological membranes in order to characterize in detail the occurring processes under well-controlled experimental conditions. Planar lipid bilayers make it possible to record single events with a measured current of more than a tenth of a picoampere. The relative simplicity of the method, the ability to observe single molecular events, and the high reproducibility of the results obtained determines the unprecedented effectiveness of using planar lipid bilayers to identify key physical and chemical factors responsible for regulating the functioning of ion channels. This review represents an analysis of literature data concerning the mechanisms of lipid-associated regulation of ion channels formed by various antimicrobial agents. The examination allows us to consider the lipids as molecular chaperones that ensure the formation of pores in target membranes by antimicrobials.