title: Α-arrestins - new players in Notch and GPCR signaling pathways in mammals.
abstract: For many years, β-arrestins have been known to be involved in G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) desensitization. However, β-arrestins belong to a family of proteins that act as multifunctional scaffolding proteins, in particular during trafficking of transmembrane receptors. The arrestin family comprises visual arrestins, β-arrestins and α-arrestins. In mammals, the functions of the α-arrestins are beginning to be elucidated, and they are described as versatile adaptors that link GPCRs or the Notch receptor to E3 ubiquitin ligases and endocytic factors. These α-arrestins can act in sequence, complementarily or cooperatively with β-arrestins in trafficking and ubiquitylation events. This Commentary will summarize the recent advances in our understanding of the functions and properties of these α-arrestin proteins in comparison to β-arrestins, and will highlight a new hypothesis linking their functional complementarity to their physical interactions. α- and β-arrestins could form transient and versatile heterodimers that form a bridge between cargo and E3 ubiquitin ligases, thus allowing trafficking to proceed.
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur and CNRS URA 2582, Signalisation Moléculaire et Activation Cellulaire, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Loredana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Puca
authors.forename: Christel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019390:Arrestins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D054875:Ubiquitination
chemical_list: D019390:Arrestins; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
keywords: E3 ubiquitin ligase; GPCR; Notch; α-Arrestin; β-Arrestin