N-terminal Src homology 2 (N-SH2) domain in Phospholipase C gamma
Phospholipase C gamma is a signaling molecule that is recruited to the C-terminal tail of the receptor upon autophosphorylation of a highly conserved tyrosine. PLCgamma is composed of a Pleckstrin homology (PH) domain followed by an elongation factor (EF) domain, 2 catalytic regions of PLC domains that flank 2 tandem SH2 domains (N-SH2, C-SH2), and ending with a SH3 domain and C2 domain. N-SH2 SH2 domain-mediated interactions represent a crucial step in transmembrane signaling by receptor tyrosine kinases. SH2 domains recognize phosphotyrosine (pY) in the context of particular sequence motifs in receptor phosphorylation sites. Both N-SH2 and C-SH2 have a very similar binding affinity to pY. But in growth factor stimulated cells these domains bind to different target proteins. N-SH2 binds to pY containing sites in the C-terminal tails of tyrosine kinases and other receptors. Recently it has been shown that this interaction is mediated by phosphorylation-independent interactions between a secondary binding site found exclusively on the N-SH2 domain and a region of the FGFR1 tyrosine kinase domain. This secondary site on the SH2 cooperates with the canonical pY site to regulate selectivity in mediating a specific cellular process. C-SH2 binds to an intramolecular site on PLCgamma itself which allows it to hydrolyze phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate into diacylglycerol and inositol triphosphate. These then activate protein kinase C and release calcium. In general SH2 domains are involved in signal transduction. They typically bind pTyr-containing ligands via two surface pockets, a pTyr and hydrophobic binding pocket, allowing proteins with SH2 domains to localize to tyrosine phosphorylated sites.
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