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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

In Vitro Analysis of PDZ-dependent CFTR Macromolecular Signaling Complexes
Published on: August 13, 2012
PDZ domains - common players in the cell signaling
Filip Jeleń1, Arkadiusz Oleksy, Katarzyna Smietana
1Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland.
Abstract:
PDZ domains are ubiquitous protein interaction modules that play a key role in cellular signaling. Their binding specificity involves recognition of the carboxyl-terminus of various proteins, often belonging to receptor and ion channel families. PDZ domains also mediate more complicated molecular networks through PDZ-PDZ interactions, recognition of internal protein sequences or phosphatidylinositol moieties. The domains often form a tandem of multiple copies, but equally often such tandems or single PDZ domain occur in combination with other signaling domains (for example SH3, DH/PH, GUK, LIM, CaMK). Common occurrence of PDZ domains in Metazoans strongly suggests that their evolutionary appearance results from the complication of signaling mechanisms in multicellular organisms. Here, we focus on their structure, specificity and role in signaling pathways.
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