Phospholipid-dependent regulation of the motor activity of myosin X

Myosin X is involved in the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and protrusion of filopodia. Here we studied the molecular mechanism by which bovine myosin X is regulated. The globular tail domain inhibited the motor activity of myosin X in a Ca(2+)-independent manner. Structural analysis revealed that myosin X is monomeric and that the band 4.1-ezrin-radixin-moesin (FERM) and pleckstrin homology (PH) domains bind to the head intramolecularly, forming an inhibited conformation. Binding of phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3)) to the PH domain reversed the tail-induced inhibition and induced the formation of myosin X dimers. Consistently, disruption of the binding of PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3) attenuated the translocation of myosin X to filopodial tips in cells. We propose the following mechanism: first, the tail inhibits the motor activity of myosin X by intramolecular head-tail interactions to form the folded conformation; second, phospholipid binding reverses the inhibition and disrupts the folded conformation, which induces dimer formation, thereby activating the mechanical and cargo transporter activity of myosin X.