The Sac1 phosphoinositide phosphatase regulates Golgi membrane morphology and mitotic spindle organization in mammals.

Phosphoinositides (PIPs) are ubiquitous regulators of signal transduction events in eukaryotic cells. PIPs are degraded by various enzymes, including PIP phosphatases. The integral membrane Sac1 phosphatases represent a major class of such enzymes.

Specific and nonspecific membrane-binding determinants cooperate in targeting phosphatidylinositol transfer protein beta-isoform to the mammalian trans-Golgi network.

Phosphatidylinositol transfer proteins (PITPs) regulate the interface between lipid metabolism and specific steps in membrane trafficking through the secretory pathway in eukaryotes. Herein, we describe the cis-acting information that controls PITPbeta localization in mammalian cells. We demonstrate PITPbeta localizes predominantly to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and that this localization is independent of the phospholipid-bound state of PITPbeta.

The proline-rich protein palladin is a binding partner for profilin.

Palladin is an actin-associated protein that has been suggested to play critical roles in establishing cell morphology and maintaining cytoskeletal organization in a wide variety of cell types. Palladin has been shown previously to bind directly to three different actin-binding proteins vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP), alpha-actinin and ezrin, suggesting that it functions as an organizing unit that recruits actin-regulatory proteins to specific subcellular sites. Palladin contains sequences resembling a motif known to bind profilin.

Palladin is a novel binding partner for Ena/VASP family members.

Palladin is an actin-associated protein that contains proline-rich motifs within its amino-terminal sequence that are similar to motifs found in zyxin, vinculin, and the Listeria protein ActA. These motifs are known to be potential binding sites for the Vasodilator-Stimulated Phosphoprotein (VASP). Here, we demonstrate that palladin is an additional direct binding partner for VASP, by using co-immunoprecipitation and blot overlay techniques with both endogenous palladin and recombinant myc-tagged palladin.