Biology Of Phosphoinositides

This is a review of the current opinions on lipid signalling research with an emphasis on the integration of the use of lipid signals in signal transduction and membrane trafficking. These two areas have traditionally been seen as separate, but in the light of recent research it has become apparent that any work in this area must include the two, as this book does. In the text, control of synthesis, translocation, and degradation of phosphoinositides is given extensive coverage; there is specific discussion of the PH and FYVE lipid binding domains that allow lipids to control the movement, location, and activation-state of membrane proteins; the regulation of phospholipase C, phospholipase D, the phosphoinositide-3-kinases, chloride channel conductance by inositol (3,4,5,6) tetraphosphate, and of cytoskeletal protein activity by inositol lipids are all covered in depth.

This volume describes the current status of the biology of inositols and phosphoinositides with an emphasis on the development in the area since the publication of volume 26 in 1996 in this series. The progress made in dissecting the genetics, structure and evolution of the seminal enzyme for synthesis of inositol in the biological system has driven the understanding of the enzyme forward. With the current genomic and proteomic tools in place the new role of inositols, inositol phosphates and phosphoinositides in cell signaling or stress response has been explored. These advances are described in this volume and are expected to give new insights into the functional implications of inositol compounds across evolutionary diverse species.

Phosphoinositides play a major role in cellular signaling and membrane organization. During the last three decades we have learned that enzymes turning over phosphoinositides control vital physiological processes and are involved in the initiation and progression of cancer, inflammation, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, metabolic disease and more. In two volumes, this book elucidates the crucial mechanisms that control the dynamics of phosphoinositide conversion. Starting out from phosphatidylinositol, a chain of lipid kinases collaborates to generate the oncogenic lipid phosphatidylinositol(3,4,5)-trisphosphate. For every phosphate group added, there are specific lipid kinases – and phosphatases to remove it. Additionally, phospholipases can cleave off the inositol head group and generate poly-phosphoinositols, which act as soluble signals in the cytosol. Volume II extends into the role of phosphoinositides in membrane organization and vesicular traffic. Endocytosis and exocytosis are modulated by phosphoinositides, which determine the fate and activity of integral membrane proteins. Phosphatidylinositol(4,5)-bisphosphate is a prominent flag in the plasma membrane, while phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate decorates early endosomes. The Golgi apparatus is rich in phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate, stressed cells increase phosphatidylinositol(3,5)-bisphosphate, and the nucleus has a phosphoinositide metabolism of its own. Phosphoinositide-dependent signaling cascades and the spatial organization of distinct phosphoinositide species are required in organelle function, fission and fusion, membrane channel regulation, cytoskeletal rearrangements, adhesion processes, and thus orchestrate complex cellular responses including growth, proliferation, differentiation, cell motility, and cell polarization.

The Chilton Conference on Inositol and Phosphoinositides, held on January 9-11, 1984 at Southwestern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, Dallas, Texas, was the third in a series of conferences on cyclitols and phosphoinositides. The first took place in 1968 in New York [Ann. New York Acad. Sci. (1969), 765,508-819] and the second was held in 1977 in East Lansing, Michigan [eyclitols and Phosphoinositides, Wells, W. W. and Eisenberg, F. , eds. , (1978) Academic press, New York, pp. 1-607. ] In the interim since the previous conference, not only has the pace of research in the field accelerated markedly, but the physiological importance of phosphoinositide metabolism has become apparent to an increasing number of investigators from diverse fields in the life sciences. Thus it seemed to us timely for both recent and established workers in this area, as well as others whose interests impinged on it, to meet in order to disseminate new information, to review, and perhaps arrive at, a consensus of our current understanding of the role of inositol and phosphoinositides, and to establish new directions for research for the next few years. The expansion of the field since the last meeting made it mandatory to restrict the scope of the topics covered at the conference, primarily to aspects dealing with mammalian systems. We sincerely regretted the exclusion of recent research on cyclitols and phosphoinositides in microbes and plants and hope that these areas will be included in future conferences.

This detailed book examines experimental approaches used to investigate the regulation and function of phosphoinositides (PtdInsP), rare eukaryotic phospholipids with a broad role in biological processes such as signal transduction, cell migration and adhesion, cell growth, subcellular organization, and membrane trafficking. The combination of complementary biochemical, mass spectrometry, and imaging methods are instrumental for the detection and quantification of PtdInsP species, as well as induced dimerization methods, affinity precipitation or co-sedimentation with liposomes, protein insertion within lipid bilayers, and enzymatic assays, or through emerging methods like native mass spectrometry and microfluidics, all of which are touched upon in this volume. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Phosphoinositides: Methods and Protocols provides detailed methodology for both specialist and novice researchers on a variety of complementary methods that have been instrumental in dissecting the regulation, dynamics, and function of PtdInsPs.

Phosphoinositides play a major role in cellular signaling and membrane organization. During the last three decades we have learned that enzymes turning over phosphoinositides control vital physiological processes and are involved in the initiation and progression of cancer, inflammation, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, metabolic disease and more. In two volumes, this book elucidates the crucial mechanisms that control the dynamics of phosphoinositide conversion. Starting out from phosphatidylinositol, a chain of lipid kinases collaborates to generate the oncogenic lipid phosphatidylinositol(3,4,5)-trisphosphate. For every phosphate group added, there are specific lipid kinases – and phosphatases to remove it. Additionally, phospholipases can cleave off the inositol head group and generate poly-phosphoinositols, which act as soluble signals in the cytosol. Volume I untangles the web of these enzymes and their products, and relates them to function in health and disease. Phosphoinositide 3-kinases and 3-phosphatases have received a special focus in volume I, and recent therapeutic developments in human disease are presented along with a historical perspective illustrating the impressive progress in the field.

The editors of Mast Cell Biology, Drs. Gilfillan and Metcalfe, have enlisted an outstanding group of investigators to discuss the emerging concepts in mast cell biology with respect to development of these cells, their homeostasis, their activation, as well as their roles in maintaining health on the one hand and on the other, their participation in disease.

This work provides a state-of-the art overview on the most relevant aspects of cell polarity. Volume 1 addresses cell polarity and cell migration (front-rear polarity), cell polarity and barrier formation (apico-basal polarity) and neuronal polarity. It particularly focuses on cell polarity at the molecular level and the underlying molecular mechanisms. It also elaborates the common principles and mechanisms that regulate cellular polarization in different cell types and contexts. Both volumes are intended for professors, group leaders and researchers in cell biology as well as medical professionals in the fields of anatomy, cell biology, physiology, pathology and tumor biology.