Taxonomic distribution of proteins containing PI3Ka domains

The tree below includes only several representative species and genera. The complete taxonomic breakdown of all proteins containing PI3Ka domains can be accessed here. Click the counts or percentage values to display the corresponding proteins.

Structural insights into phosphoinositide 3-kinase catalysis and signalling.

Walker EH, Perisic O, Ried C, Stephens L, Williams RL
Nature. 1999; 402: 313-20

Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) are ubiquitous lipid kinases that function both as signal transducers downstream of cell-surface receptors and in constitutive intracellular membrane and protein trafficking pathways. All PI3Ks are dual-specificity enzymes with a lipid kinase activity which phosphorylates phosphoinositides at the 3-hydroxyl, and a protein kinase activity. The products of PI3K-catalysed reactions, phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P3), PtdIns(3,4)P2 and PtdIns(3)P, are second messengers in a variety of signal transduction pathways, including those essential to cell proliferation, adhesion, survival, cytoskeletal rearrangement and vesicle trafficking. Here we report the 2.2 A X-ray crystallographic structure of the catalytic subunit of PI3Kgamma, the class I enzyme that is activated by heterotrimeric G-protein betagamma subunits and Ras. PI3Kgamma has a modular organization centred around a helical-domain spine, with C2 and catalytic domains positioned to interact with phospholipid membranes, and a Ras-binding domain placed against the catalytic domain where it could drive allosteric activation of the enzyme.

Using structure to define the function of phosphoinositide 3-kinase family members.

Domin J, Waterfield MD
FEBS Lett. 1997; 410: 91-5

Signalling through the lipid products of phosphoinositide-3-OH kinase.

Toker A, Cantley LC
Nature. 1997; 387: 673-6

When a stimulatory agonist molecule binds at the exterior of the cell membrane, a second messenger transduces the signal to the interior of the cell. Second messengers can be derived from phospholipids in the membrane by the action of the enzymes phospholipase C or phosphoinositide-3-OH kinase (PI(3)K). PI(3)K is a key player in many cellular responses, including the movement of organelle membranes, shape alteration through rearrangement of cytoskeletal actin, transformation and chemotaxis. But how PI(3)K mediates these responses is only now becoming clear.

Phosphoinositide 3-kinases: a conserved family of signal transducers.

Vanhaesebroeck B, Leevers SJ, Panayotou G, Waterfield MD
Trends Biochem Sci. 1997; 22: 267-72

Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) generate lipids that are implicated in receptor-stimulated signalling and in the regulation of membrane traffic. Several distinct classes of PI3Ks have now been identified that have been conserved throughout eukaryotic evolution. Potential signalling pathways downstream of PI3Ks have been elucidated and PI3K function is now being characterised in several model organisms.

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase.

Kapeller R, Cantley LC
Bioessays. 1994; 16: 565-76

Currently, a central question in biology is how signals from the cell surface modulate intracellular processes. In recent years phosphoinositides have been shown to play a key role in signal transduction. Two phosphoinositide pathways have been characterized, to date. In the canonical phosphoinositide turnover pathway, activation of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C results in the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and the generation of two second messengers, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and diacylglycerol. The 3-phosphoinositide pathway involves protein-tyrosine kinase-mediated recruitment and activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, resulting in the production of phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate. The 3-phosphoinositides are not substrates of any known phospholipase C, are not components of the canonical phosphoinositide turnover pathway, and may themselves act as intracellular mediators. The 3-phosphoinositide pathway has been implicated in growth factor-dependent mitogenesis, membrane ruffling and glucose uptake. Furthermore the homology of the yeast vps34 with the mammalian phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase has suggested a role for this pathway in vesicular trafficking. In this review the different mechanisms employed by protein-tyrosine kinases to activate phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and its involvement in the signaling cascade initiated by tyrosine phosphorylation, are examined.

Phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase: gene structure and requirement for yeast cell viability.

Flanagan CA, Schnieders EA, Emerick AW, Kunisawa R, Admon A, Thorner J
Science. 1993; 262: 1444-8

Phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) 4-kinase catalyzes the first step in the biosynthesis of PtdIns-4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns[4,5]P2). Hydrolysis of PtdIns[4,5]P2 in response to extracellular stimuli is thought to initiate intracellular signaling cascades that modulate cell proliferation and differentiation. The PIK1 gene encoding a PtdIns 4-kinase from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was isolated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with oligonucleotides based on the sequence of peptides derived from the purified enzyme. The sequence of the PIK1 gene product bears similarities to that of PtdIns 3-kinases from mammals (p110) and yeast (Vps34p). Expression of PIK1 from a multicopy plasmid elevated PtdIns 4-kinase activity and enhanced the response to mating pheromone. A pik1 null mutant was inviable, indicating that PtdIns4P and presumably PtdIns[4,5]P2 are indispensable phospholipids.