I-proteins - a proposed switch in myotubularin function

Michael J Clague1, Stephen K Dove, Francis A Barr

  • 1Physiological Laboratory, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK. clague@liv.ac.uk

In this article, we consider the functions of the myotubularins - a large family of phosphoinositide 3-phosphatases. By analogy with the phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphatase PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted in chromosome ten) and many protein phosphatases, it has been proposed that the primary function of this protein family is to regulate substrate levels, in this case phosphatidylinositol (3)-phosphate. We propose an alternate, or additional, function that is analogous to the G-protein family of phosphatases, which use nucleotide-dependent conformational changes to transduce signals or do mechanical work.

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