Merlin and the ERM proteins--regulators of receptor distribution and signaling at the cell cortex.
Recent studies highlight the importance of the distribution of membrane receptors in controlling receptor output and in contributing to complex biological processes. The cortical cytoskeleton is known to affect membrane protein distribution but the molecular basis of this is largely unknown. Here, we discuss the functions of Merlin and the ERM proteins both in linking membrane proteins to the underlying cortical cytoskeleton and in controlling the distribution of and signaling from membrane receptors. We also propose a model that could account for the intricacies of Merlin function across model organisms.
Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Cancer Research and Harvard Medical School Department of Pathology, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Andrea I
AI
McClatchey
Richard G
RG
Fehon
D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D025581:Neurofibromin 2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; C478965:EPB41L4B protein, human; D025581:Neurofibromin 2