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A mammalian PAR-3-PAR-6 complex implicated in Cdc42/Rac1 and aPKC signalling and cell polarity
D Lin1, A S Edwards, J P Fawcett
1Program in Molecular Biology and Cancer, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, 600 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5, Canada.
Abstract:
Cellular asymmetry is critical for the development of multicellular organisms. Here we show that homologues of proteins necessary for asymmetric cell division in Caenorhabditis elegans associate with each other in mammalian cells and tissues. mPAR-3 and mPAR-6 exhibit similar expression patterns and subcellular distributions in the CNS and associate through their PDZ (PSD-95/Dlg/ZO-1) domains. mPAR-6 binds to Cdc42/Rac1 GTPases, and mPAR-3 and mPAR-6 bind independently to atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) isoforms. In vitro, mPAR-3 acts as a substrate and an inhibitor of aPKC. We conclude that mPAR-3 and mPAR-6 have a scaffolding function, coordinating the activities of several signalling proteins that are implicated in mammalian cell polarity.