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Molecular mechanisms in signal transduction at the membrane

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 17, pages 659–665 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Signal transduction originates at the membrane, where the clustering of signaling proteins is a key step in transmitting a message. Membranes are difficult to study, and their influence on signaling is still only understood at the most rudimentary level. Recent advances in the biophysics of membranes, surveyed in this review, have highlighted a variety of phenomena that are likely to influence signaling activity, such as local composition heterogeneities and long-range mechanical effects. We discuss recent mechanistic insights into three signaling systems—Ras activation, Ephrin signaling and the control of actin nucleation—where the active role of membrane components is now appreciated and for which experimentation on the membrane is required for further understanding.

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Figure 1: Activation of PKC at the membrane.
Figure 2: Self-organizing spiral waves formed by Min proteins on the membrane surface.
Figure 3: The activation of Ras by SOS.
Figure 4: EphA2 spatial mutation experiment.
Figure 5: Model for activation of the WAVE complex.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the members of our laboratories and our collaborators for many stimulating discussions and for sharing their insights into the topics described here.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

    Jay T Groves & John Kuriyan

  2. Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

    Jay T Groves & John Kuriyan

  3. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

    Jay T Groves & John Kuriyan

  4. Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, California, USA

    Jay T Groves & John Kuriyan

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Groves, J., Kuriyan, J. Molecular mechanisms in signal transduction at the membrane. Nat Struct Mol Biol 17, 659–665 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.1844

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