The ERM (ezrin, radixin and moesin) family of proteins are linkers that tether actin microfilaments to the plasma membrane, Merlin, the NF2 tumor suppressor gene product, is highly homologous to ERM proteins, In ERM proteins and merlin, interdomain binding promotes auto-inhibition and homo-oligomerization or hetero-oligomerization. Recent studies have revealed that ERM proteins transduce growth signals, and have shed new light on how merlin links cell growth to the cytoskeleton.