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Assessing the omnipotence of inositol hexakisphosphate
1Inositol Signaling Section, Laboratory of Signal Transduction, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, 27709, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA. shears@niehs.nih.gov
Abstract:
This review assesses the authenticity of inositol hexakisphosphate (InsP(6)) being a wide-ranging regulator of many important cellular functions. Against a background in which the possible importance of localized InsP(6) metabolism is discussed, there is the facile explanation that InsP(6) is merely an "inactive" precursor for the diphosphorylated inositol phosphates. Indeed, many of the proposed cellular functions of InsP(6) cannot sustain a challenge from the implementation of a rigorous set of criteria, which are designed to avoid experimental artefacts.