Voltage Dependent Anion Channel Protein 1 (VDAC1)

The voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) of the outer mitochondrial membrane is a small, abundant outer membrane pore-forming protein found in the outer membranes of all eukaryotic mitochondria. The VDAC protein is thought to form the major pathway for movement of adenine nucleotides through the outer membrane and to be the mitochondrial binding site for hexokinase and glycerol kinase.

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.