title: Pleckstrin homology domains and the cytoskeleton.
abstract: Pleckstrin homology (PH) domains are 100-120 amino acid protein modules best known for their ability to bind phosphoinositides. All possess an identical core beta-sandwich fold and display marked electrostatic sidedness. The binding site for phosphoinositides lies in the center of the positively charged face. In some cases this binding site is well defined, allowing highly specific and strong ligand binding. In several of these cases the PH domains specifically recognize 3-phosphorylated phosphoinositides, allowing them to drive membrane recruitment in response to phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activation. Examples of these PH domain-containing proteins include certain Dbl family guanine nucleotide exchange factors, protein kinase B, PhdA, and pleckstrin-2. PH domain-mediated membrane recruitment of these proteins contributes to regulated actin assembly and cell polarization. Many other PH domain-containing cytoskeletal proteins, such as spectrin, have PH domains that bind weakly, and to all phosphoinositides. In these cases, the individual phosphoinositide interactions may not be sufficient for membrane association, but appear to require self-assembly of their host protein and/or cooperation with other anchoring motifs within the same molecule to drive membrane attachment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 809C Stellar-Chance Laboratories, 422 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6059, USA. mlemmon@mail.med.upenn
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lemmon
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.forename: Charles S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Abrams
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002633:Chemotaxis; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D010716:Phosphatidylinositols / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
chemical_list: D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D010716:Phosphatidylinositols; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt