Work

Scaffold Proteins: Hubs for Controlling the Flow of Cellular Information

Year: 2011

Type: review

Abstract: The spatial and temporal organization of molecules within a cell is critical for coordinating the many distinct activities carried out by the cell. In an increasing number of biological signaling processes, scaffold proteins have been found to play a central role in physically assembling the relevant molecular components. Although most scaffolds use a simple tethering mechanism to increase the efficiency of interaction between individual partner molecules, these proteins can also exert complex allosteric control over their partners and are themselves the target of regulation. Scaffold proteins offer a simple, flexible strategy for regulating selectivity in pathways, shaping output behaviors, and achieving new responses from preexisting signaling components. As a result, scaffold proteins have been exploited by evolution, pathogens, and cellular engineers to reshape cellular behavior.

Source: Science

DOI: 10.1126/science.1198701

Authors: Matthew C. Good, Jesse G. Zalatan, Wendell A. Lim

Institutions: University of California, San Francisco, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Language: English

Topic: Protein Kinase Regulation and GTPase Signaling

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Eye Institute, National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Awards: Exploring Design Principles of Cellular Control Circuits, Protein Recognition in Signal Transduction, Protein Interactions Regulating Cell Motility, Cellular Control: Synthetic Signaling/Motility (RMI), Engineering Synthetic Cell Motility Systems (RMI)