Analysis of phosphoinositide-binding proteins using liposomes as an affinity matrix

Pl Sleuth The term "phosphoinositides" describes a class of phosphorylated lipids derived from phosphatidylinositol (PI) and includes the usual suspects: PI(3)P, PI(4)P, and PI(4,5)P2. These molecules are involved in a broad range of intracellular signaling pathways, impacting everything from cell growth and differentiation to cytoskeletal dynamics and membrane trafficking. The discovery of new phosphoinositide binding partners plays an important ongoing role in elucidating the full functionality of this fascinating group of compounds, as well as in identifying targets for the treatment of their related diseases. In this issue, Kndler and Mayinger (p. 858) present a methodology for the identification of novel lipid-binding proteins that improves upon previously used techniques, which had a tendency to suffer from high levels of false positives and assay conditions that could not closely emulate true in vivo conditions. The new assay builds upon previous technologies but overcomes many of the hurdles by ma...