Families of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C: structure and function

A large number of extracellular signals stimulate hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate by phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC). PI-PLC isozymes have been found in a broad spectrum of organisms and although they have common catalytic properties, their regulation involves different signalling pathways, A number of recent studies provided an insight into domain organisation of PI-PLC isozymes and contributed towards better understanding of the structural basis for catalysis, cellular localisation and molecular changes that could underlie the process of their activation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.