The interplay between phosphoinositides and ESCRT proteins

The Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport (ESCRT) machinery orchestrates a wide range of membrane remodeling and repair events, spanning multivesicular body biogenesis, viral budding, nuclear envelope surveillance, cytokinesis, lysosomal repair and plasma membrane resealing. These processes depend on the hierarchical assembly of ESCRT complexes to detect and remodel membranes, ultimately driving membrane scission with topological precision. A growing body of evidence indicates that phosphoinositides (PtdIns), a versatile class of phosphorylated lipids, are central determinants of ESCRT function by defining membrane identity, recruiting specific ESCRT modules and integrating lipid signaling into biological processes. This review synthesizes current understanding of how distinct phosphoinositide pools govern ESCRT recruitment and activity, with a focus on the molecular components and their interaction.